


The Walking Dead

by rokeat



Category: Glee
Genre: Blam, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-05
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-07 18:36:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 33
Words: 240,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4273731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rokeat/pseuds/rokeat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam wakes up from a coma to find only his best friend Blaine at his side and the whole world changed to the point they need to fight for their survival in every step against some kind of monsters that seemed to have destroyed everything they knew and left them with only each other to lean on. Based on "The walking dead" TV show. WARNING: Major character death (though not BLAM)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, remember when I said I wasn't going to write any more multichaptered fics? Look how much of a liar I am! :)
> 
> This is obviously based in The Walking Dead TV show, though not so much in the plot but the general universe of it. So yes, it's not going to be as fluffly and happy as the rest of my fics. At all. This is going to be intense and dramatic and rough and yes, there will probably be some major character deaths (though not Blam, I promise you that).
> 
> So if I haven't managed to send you away yet with all those warning, please read and enjoy! :)

The first thing Sam noticed as he woke up was silence. Even the beeping machine at his side –what the hell was that?– was not enough to hide the absorbing stillness of the place. The place. Where was he? He could tell he was not on his bed by the bumps of the mattress and the thickness of the sheets. Maybe opening his eyes would be a good way to investigate a bit further.

He tried lifting an eyelid and he immediately had to shut it back down due to the amount of light that was invading the place. Ok, so it was the middle of the day. What the hell was he doing in bed then? As much as he tried, he didn’t remember going to sleep the night before. His mind felt like it had been invaded by a thick fog that didn’t let him think. Maybe he was hungover? Maybe that was why he didn’t remember anything from the night before?

He knew he had to try to see his surroundings again, or he would never know a shit about how he had ended up in that situation. Very slowly, he opened one eye again and resisted the urge to close it while waiting to adjust to the light. It wasn’t so hard this time, and soon he could see he was in a room full of white. Absolutely everything was white. Maybe… a hospital? It surely looked like that when he looked at the beeping machine at his side and realized he was being monitored. What had happened to him? And why was he alone?

Except that he wasn’t, he realized as his heart seemed to burst with relief. One look at his other side and he could see there was someone sitting on a chair there. Blaine. His dear friend Blaine, who seemed to be asleep even if his muscles were on tension and he was holding something in his hand so strongly that his knuckles were white. What was that and why it was so important? Was that… a knife? What the hell was Blaine doing with a knife while visiting him in the hospital? What the hell was happening? He needed some answers and he needed them now.

“B?” Sam softly said, his voice hoarse and painful because of lack of use.

Blaine didn’t react at first, and Sam noticed he was looking quite pale and there were dark bags under his eyes, as if he hadn’t gotten that much sleep for days. He was also free of any gel –his curls funnily spread all around his head– and he even had some stubble on his chin that Sam had never seen on him. Sam couldn’t help but to smile fondly at his worrier of a friend: he probably had been unable to sleep or care about his usually impeccable looks while Sam was not alright. He was kind and bighearted as that.

“Blaine?” Sam tried again, and this time he sat up and straightened his arm to be able to shake his friend awake. The smallest touch, though, and Blaine jumped awake, his eyes popping out of his head as he raised the knife in front of him. It was difficult to say which one of them had been more frightened at the reaction, but Sam recovered first. “Hey, hey, easy, it’s just me” Sam tried to calm his friend down, gently grabbing his wrist to make him lower the weapon, but Blaine still had to find his voice. He looked utterly terrified. “B?”

“Sam?” he finally managed to speak, and Sam sighed in relief that he didn’t appear to be in shock anymore.

“That’s me” Sam even managed to joke, purposefully smirking at his friend in an attempt of getting him to relax because something was really screwed up with him and Sam didn’t like seeing him like that.

“Are you really awake?” Blaine asked, as if his eyes being open and the fact that he was talking weren’t prove enough of his consciousness. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, a little dizzy but I’m okay” Sam answered in complete honesty, still unable to decipher what the hell was going on in Blaine’s head –and what the hell had happened to him that got him to the hospital–. “What happened to me?”

“You don’t remember?” Blaine asked, his voice shaking and impossibly soft.

“No, not really. I just remember…” Sam started, but he was brusquely silenced when Blaine jumped from his chair and embraced the blond with all his forces as the most terrifying sobs shook his whole body. “Hey, B, what’s wrong?” Sam asked, squeezing Blaine strongly to his chest as he seemed to need all the comfort he could offer.

“I’m sorry, it’s just…” Blaine tried to explain, though the sobs or the anguish in him didn’t let him find the words.

“Blaine, please” Sam said, tracing comforting patterns on Blaine’s back, horrified to see him like that, so far from his usual even-tempered and controlled self. “Whatever happened, I’m alright now”

“I’m sorry, it’s just…” Blaine said once he was able to speak, as he broke the embrace and sat on the edge of the bed, next to his friend. “It was hard”

“It’s okay, I get it” Sam understandingly answered, even reaching to dry some tears from Blaine’s cheeks with his own thumb. “Hey, I’m flattered you look so happy to see me” he even dared to joke, trying to lighten the mood of the place, but Blaine didn’t even react –there was something seriously wrong with him and Sam needed to know what that was. “Hey, B, are you alright?”

“Yeah” was the only explanation Blaine offered, though Sam could almost see his brain swirling with everything he needed to explain, even if he couldn’t find the way to do it.

“What happened to me?” Sam asked, hoping at least that was something Blaine could answer.

“We were having lunch on the stand on the hockey teams as they played, and one stray puck hit you on your temple” Blaine explained with the steadiest voice he could muster. “You’ve been in a coma for two weeks”

“Two weeks?” Sam repeated in surprise. No wonder he had had so much trouble connecting back with reality.

“It was my fault” Blaine confessed, lowering his face, clearly wanting to avoid Sam’s gaze. “I insisted on going there instead of the cafeteria because it felt too crowded. You didn’t even want to go there”

So that was it? Maybe Blaine was acting so strange because he felt guilty about Sam’s accident? He knew Blaine had a high tendency to punish himself when he felt he had done something wrong, so it totally made sense. Poor thing, what a struggle those two weeks had to be for him.

“That’s no one’s fault, B” Sam immediately tried to absolve him from his guilt, lifting his face with a finger under his chin so he would feel obliged to look at him. “How were you to know something like that was going to happen? And hey, I’m alright now, so no regrets, okay?”

“Okay” Blaine agreed, but he still didn’t look comforted at all –in fact, he looked as if he could burst into tears again any second, even though he was managing not to.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Sam insisted. “You look horrible. How long have you been here with me?”

“Two weeks, I told you” Blaine answered.

“No, I meant here, in the hospital without going outside”

“The whole time” Blaine answered hesitantly, as if he didn’t want to share that piece of information with him.

“What?” Sam asked, astounded. He knew Blaine was the best of friends, but that was too much even for him, right? No wonder he looked so pale, having been indoors for two whole weeks. “You didn’t leave at all for two weeks?”

“No. Someone needed to watch over you” Blaine answered with a shrug of his shoulders, as if the answer should have been obvious to Sam.

“Where are my parents?” Sam asked, because even if they lived in Kentucky, there was no way they wouldn’t come if he was in a coma, right? And they had had two weeks to arrive.

“I… I don’t know” Blaine confessed, his voice getting softer with every word.

“Ok, Blaine, what’s happening here?” Sam asked, because he was starting to get really scared. “Why are you acting so strange and where is everybody? Why is everything so silent?”

“We don’t have time for this” Blaine answered, and all of a sudden he was like a tornado, putting everything around him into a bag in a rush without stopping to look at his confused friend. “We need to get out of here now that you’re awake”

“What? What are you talking about? I just woke up from a coma, Blaine” Sam answered, because how did Blaine think they were going to let them out in his situation? And why should they leave in the first place?

“Sam, I know, believe me” Blaine said, suddenly standing in front of him with a determined look in his eyes, as if he knew he needed to be in charge and the natural leader he had in him was taking over him. “And I know you don’t get this and I will tell you all about it later, I swear, but… now we need to leave, before it gets dark. We’re not safe here”

“What do you mean we’re not safe?” Sam asked, because every little piece of information just added to the terror that was starting to grip his heart.

“Here are your clothes, the ones you were wearing the day of your accident” Blaine ignored his question, leaving next to Sam some clothes he immediately recognized.

“But…” Sam tried to protest, but Blaine took his hand in his and stopped him.

“Sammy, do you trust me?” Blaine asked, and there was so much courage and determination in his voice that it was impossible to contradict him.

“Yes” Sam answered with a nod of his head and a gentle squeeze to Blaine’s hand.

“Then come on. We’ve got to get out of here” Blaine said, again turning into action as he carefully unstuck the electrodes from Sam’s chest and helped him get into his clothes with the greatest delicacy Sam had ever experienced even in his rush, as if he was afraid Sam would break any moment or as if he was so glad Sam had come back from the dead that he didn’t want to risk sending him there again.

“Are they going to let us out just like that?” Sam asked, already more than a little dizzy with all the movement after two weeks of complete stillness.

“There is no one to stop us” Blaine answered matter-of-factly as he took Sam’s arm and threw it around his shoulders, ready to hold his weight as much as he needed. “Now careful, you must be really weak after so many days”

Sam tentatively leant his feet on the floor and, with Blaine’s help, he rised from the bed and tried to hold his own weight. It was not an easy task, and the growing dizziness would have made him fall if it wasn’t for Blaine’s arms quickly closing around his waist.

“You ok?” Blaine asked, looking worriedly at him as he held onto him even more strongly. “You think you can walk?”

“Well, I’m not ready for a marathon, but I think so” Sam answered, trying to erase that offending worried frown of Blaine’s face.

“Ok, then let’s go” Blaine encouraged him as he threw the bag he had been filling over his shoulder and started half holding, half pushing Sam towards the door of the room. “You’re going to see a lot of horrible stuff out there” Blaine tried to warn him, even if he knew the shock would be awful anyway. “You’re going to think we’re in hell. And we probably are, I don’t know. The thing is… try to keep calm, ok? I’m going to keep you safe, I promise you”

“Blaine, you’re really scaring me” Sam said just before Blaine opened the door.

“Good. Fear and prudency are almost the same thing” Blaine enigmatically answered as they finally got out of the room and to the corridor.

As soon as he got a glance of the outside of his room, Sam felt about to faint even if that didn’t have anything to do with his weakness: everything had been abandoned at mid-use, there were papers and instruments and other things all spread around, like their owners had just thrown them in his escape. There were dark stains on the floor and on some of the walls, of what looked like blood to Sam, and the odor was next to unbearable. But what made Sam’s knees buckle was what looked like a corpse in the middle of the corridor. A body disemboweled and apparently half-eaten.

“What happened to him?” Sam asked, trying to overcome the nausea he was feeling.

“Not now, Sam” Blaine answered, reinforcing his grip around Sam’s waist when he noticed Sam’s pace getting weaker –though Blaine knew it could be because of what he was seeing, and not because of his current lack of strength. “We need to find a back door. They’ve been piling up on the front entrance for hours now”

“Who are they?” Sam asked before he could stop himself. “Looters? Terrorists?”

“No” was the only answer Blaine offered as he practically dragged Sam along the corridor as fast as he could manage. “Think you can manage the stairs? I don’t want to risk getting trapped on an elevator”

“Yeah, I guess so, if you help me” Sam answered, trying not to make any more questions as he could see the troubled expression on Blaine’s eyes as he tried to get them to safety –whatever the hell that meant.

“Well, I’m not planning on leaving you here, so let’s go”

They descended the stairs much more slowly than Blaine would have liked, and Sam could practically hear his friend’s pounding heart, so fast and strongly it was beating because of the fear of being caught in that vulnerable situation. Thankfully, they had been staying on a third floor, and they made it to the main floor before Sam collapsed with exhaustion.

“Just give me one minute and I’ll be alright” Sam asked as he tried to regain his breath, and he was grateful when Blaine helped him sit on the bottom stair.

“Rest a bit” Blaine kindly granted him, even if Sam could see his heart was telling him otherwise, as he wouldn’t stay still and his eyes moved from one side to the other constantly, as if expecting somebody to arrive any minute. Blaine must have noticed Sam was watching him, though, as he hurried to explain. “I haven’t been able to explore down here, I’ve got no idea how many open exits there could be”

“Oh shit, there is another one right there” Sam exclaimed, horrified to find another corpse in a similar state to the other one, just a few feet away from them.

“Don’t look at them” Blaine advised him even if he seemed to be quite used to it, while he turned his gaze away from it in a sign of respect for the victim.

“What is that noise?” Sam asked as he seemed to hear some kind of hissing, a sound similar to what someone foaming on the mouth would do. Maybe there was someone still alive somewhere near them?

“Damn it!” Blaine yelled, his eyes filling with terror and determination as the same time as he reached for the big knife hid in his front pocket. “Don’t move!” he ordered over his shoulder towards his friend as he decidedly put himself in front of him, acting as a shield.

Nothing could have prepared Sam for what happened next. A girl came charging at them, trying to attack them without even saying a word, just making that horrible sound that had embedded itself on Sam’s brain. She had the appearance of a human, but at the same time there was nothing human in her. She was covered in blood, the tone of her skin was very pale, almost translucent, and her eyes had turned completely yellow. But what shocked Sam the most was how there were wholes in her body, how she was missing big chunks of flesh all along her yet she was managing to stand and move. And she looked quite dangerous, judging by the defensive position in which Blaine was standing while waiting for her to come close enough.

“Blaine…” Sam said, trying to ask what the hell was that girl, wanting to plead for him to be careful, but no more words came out of his mouth.

“Stay there!” Blaine yelled once again before he jumped from his place and embedded his knife on the girl’s head in one swift and accurate movement.

Sam couldn’t believe what he was seeing: had Blaine killed that girl just like that, right in front of him, in cold blood? Alright, the girl had look threatening enough, but he had never pictured Blaine as someone capable of doing something like that.

Blaine turned to him again, a different terror in his eyes this time at what Sam could possibly be thinking about him after what he had seen, but before any of them could say a word, another one of those disgusting people grabbed Blaine around the neck and pushed him face first into the wall.

“Blaine!” Sam yelled as he tried to stand up to help his friend.

But he didn’t need to worry, as Blaine managed to elbow the other man so he could disentangle himself from his grip, and he angrily turned around and once again he expertly used his knife to put an end to the life of his aggressor.

Panting with effort and adrenaline, Blaine walked the corridor up and down, making sure there were no more intruders, before going back to Sam and grabbing one of his arms to throw it around his shoulders again.

“Let’s get out of here” he simply said as he got Sam on his feet again and started pulling him to the door, looking decidedly ahead of him as if he was ashamed to meet Sam’s gaze.

“Blaine…” Sam wanted to tell him not to worry, that it was alright, that whatever the hell was happening, he understood Blaine had done what he’d done for a reason, but Blaine cut him again.

“Not now, Sam” he repeated as he very carefully and slowly opened a bit the emergency door that would lead them to the street.

The first glimpse they got from the street was absolutely terrifying: dozens of those sick people –because Sam had assumed they must have some kind of illness– were roaming around, without a visible destination or objective. The city, though, seemed to be as abandoned as the hospital had been, and Sam couldn’t possibly see anyone else apart from those monsters.

“Where now?” Sam asked, as Blaine seemed to have a plan formed in his mind.

“I say we try for one of those houses at the end of the street” Blaine explained, pointed at a row of semi-detached small houses at a distance. “They’re a bit further away than I would have liked, but I think we can make it if I help you”

“We can make it” Sam assured him, knowing it was up to him to get a grip on himself and make it easier for Blaine. “Let’s go”

“No!” Blaine immediately stopped him with a hand to his chest. “If we just walk out they will come to us”

“So what can we do?”

“We need to create a distraction” Blaine answered, already inspecting the entire street in front of them with avid eyes, and Sam could almost hear his functioning brain as he tried to find a solution. “You see that car with the open door? It looks like its owner just ran; I bet you a hundred dollars the keys are still in there”

“So?”

“So if I can turn the radio on and loud enough, I could create a distraction. The noise really attracts them, you know. Wait for me here” Blaine ordered as he was about to run towards his goal.

“No!” Sam practically yelled, roughly grabbing his arm to stop him. “They will get you!”

“They won’t, you know I’m very fast” Blaine explained, trying to reassure his friend before he disentangled himself from his grip and left before Sam could stop him again.

“Blaine, no!” Sam yelled behind him, but Blaine was already gone and Sam could only watch, his own fist in his mouth so he could bite into it instead of screaming, as Blaine made the run of his life.

He was fast, that was true. Sam already knew that –after all, he always won when they spontaneously raced anywhere to see who got there first–, but that was amazing even for him. With the knife in his hand, just in case, Blaine ran like the devil towards the car and got in it before any of those creatures could get to him. So the first part of his plan had been a success, Sam told himself, trying to calm himself down. But the most difficult part was yet to come.

Inside the car, Blaine almost burst into a relieved laughter when he noticed his assumption had been right and the keys were indeed there, so he only needed to turn the engine on. The radio immediately went off, so knowing it was just a question of seconds until some of the nearer walkers arrived, he turned the volume as loud as he could and escaped as fast as his legs would carry him.

Sam held his breath as all those creatures turned to the sound of the car and slowly started walking towards it. If they managed to circle the car before Blaine could get out… But Blaine was smarted and faster than that, and he was already running for his life back towards him before any of the monsters were close enough to trap him inside.

A couple of times in his run Blaine had to kill one of those creatures that tried to get to him, but he didn’t hesitate to embed his knife into their skulls in a way that told Sam he had probably been forced to defend himself a lot of times in the past two weeks and had gotten used to it. Fortunately, he didn’t have the time to dwell onto those thoughts before Blaine was back in front of him and grabbing him again.

“Let’s go” he suggested as he pulled Sam out of the building with an arm around his waist. “We don’t have much time until they realize that noise won’t lead them to anything”

“How did you…?” Sam wanted to ask how he knew all that before the words got stuck on his mouth with the admiration he was feeling for his very determined friend.

“Experience, Sam” Blaine answered as he rushed them towards their destination, practically supporting the totality of Sam’s weight. “Experience is everything now”

**********

They made it to the line of little houses they had spotted from the hospital in record time with no more incidents, although by the corner of his eyes Sam could see some of those monsters were already turning and walking towards them. Luckily, they didn’t seem to be that fast.

They tried to enter in a couple of those houses, but they were locked and they didn’t want to break any windows to enter, as that would only diminish their safety once inside. Fortunately, the third house they tried was unlocked, and Blaine unceremoniously pushed Sam inside and closed the door behind them, putting the door-chain on immediately and moving some nearby furniture to block it.

“We made it” Sam commented as he lent against the wall, wanting to praise his friend and erase that frown of his face that apparently had lately become a part of his usually sweet and jovial face.

“I promised I’d keep you safe, didn’t I?” Blaine answered, even managing a small smile only for Sam.

“You surely did” Sam answered, squeezing Blaine’s shoulder for comfort, as he looked as he could use some.

“I’m going to check there is no back door. We can’t be cautious enough” Blaine said before disappearing, apparently not ready to receive any appraisal yet.

Sam looked around the living room he was standing in. Fortunately it seemed like none of those creatures had made it there, as nothing seemed out of place and there was no blood of smell that indicated they had been there. There was only silence.

“Looks like this sofa can be turned into a bed” Blaine said, having returned to the room unannounced –which made Sam realize he needed to be more cautious too, as he couldn’t always relegate in Blaine to keep them safe.

“We’re going to sleep here?” Sam asked, completely trusting Blaine’s decisions.

“Yes, I think it’s better if we stay down here. If we went upstairs and they managed to enter, we wouldn’t know until they were upon us” Blaine reasoned with him as he maneuvered the couch until it was made into what looked like a nice comfortable bed. “Let’s get you comfortable”

“I’m alright” Sam tried to protest even if Blaine was already holding and manhandling him again, this time towards the bed.

“You’ve made a big effort after so many days of total inactivity, you must be dead tired” Blaine answered as he carefully lowered him down until he was sitting against the backrest and put some pillows behind his back. “Are you okay? Are you comfortable?”

“I’m alright” Sam tried to convince him as he took Blaine’s hand and pulled until he was forced to sit on the edge. “Stop worrying about me, please”

“You look pretty pale” Blaine replied, and Sam could feel how much he was craving the contact of their joined hands by how he entwined their fingers together.

“But… that’s not because of my injury” Sam confessed, admitting how much seeing all that had affected him.

“I know, it’s a lot to take in such a short time” Blaine replied with a sad smile, squeezing Sam’s hand comfortingly before letting go of it. “Just rest, I’m going to see if I can find us something to eat, you must be starving. At least I am”

“Have you not been eating?” Sam asked, as it would not be a big surprise to know that Blaine had neglected himself while taking care of his friend.

“Of course I have! How do you think I would have survived for two weeks?” Blaine answered with a humorless chuckle.

“How long since you ate the last time, though?” Sam incisively asked, as he always needed to do when he knew Blaine was purposefully avoiding answering a question.

“Mmm… three days ago” Blaine finally confessed.

“You haven’t eaten for three days?” Sam asked in astonishment.

“I… couldn’t leave you alone. The last time I left the room there was one of them in your door about to come in when I got back, so I never left again. It was too risky” Blaine tried to make Sam understand.

“Blaine, I… I really need you to start talking” Sam begged as every piece of information he received only left him more and more confused.

“Let me find us some food first and then I’ll tell you all about it” Blaine promised, as he knew he couldn’t avoid it anymore. And it was not that he didn’t want Sam to know but… he wished he could spare him for the horrific truth just for a while longer. “You just rest. We’re safe here but…” he said as he handed Sam the knife he had been carrying the whole time, though he had previously cleaned it. “Just in case”

Sam hesitated before taking the weapon from Blaine. He had never in his life felt as he needed anything to defend himself, and he didn’t like feeling threatened at all. But he knew Blaine would never ask that of him if it wasn’t totally necessary. And he needed Blaine to stop worrying about him, so if by having that knife with him he could keep Blaine calmer, it was the least he could for him.

It didn’t take Blaine long to get some food together and brought it to Sam so they both could share it. Sam hadn’t realized until now, but he was pretty hungry even if he had been fed artificially while in his coma. And judging by the speed which with Blaine was ingesting his part, he was really starving.

“Don’t eat so fast, B, or you’ll end up sick after so much time without any nurishment” Sam warned him with a warm and protective smile, that was reciprocated with an embarrassed smirk from the curly-haired boy.

“Sorry” he apologized, though he was already finished.

“Don’t apologize” Sam answered with a chuckle as he watched Blaine pick up the leftovers and take them to the kitchen before taking a seat in front of him with a grave expression on his face.

“Ok, you can ask me anything you want now” Blaine finally conceded with a deep sigh. “I’ll answer all of your questions”

“What are those?” Sam asked without preamble, not feeling the need to beat about the bush with his best friend. “They didn’t look like humans”

“And they aren’t” Blaine agreed with a shake of his head. “At least not anymore. They’re walkers. Well, I call them that”

“But they were…”

“Yes, they were people. Nobody knows how it all begun, but somehow they just started appearing” Blaine explained, his gaze seeming to get lost in the horizon as he reminisced about what had happened. “Or more like… people started turning into them”

“You killed them” Sam said before he was able to stop himself. He was not really reproaching him of anything –he knew Blaine like the back of his hand and, if he had done something like that, Sam was sure he really didn’t have an alternative–, but he felt he needed some kind of explanation.

“It was either them or us” Blaine explained, and Sam could see he was feeling ashamed about it, though he didn’t really regret it. “They bite, they will eat you alive if they get to you, you saw those corpses. You will turn into one of them with the smallest bite or even a scratch from them. It is either to kill or be killed”

“And… the whole city…?” Sam tried to ask, although there was no easy way to ask if everyone around you had been killed.

“I don’t really know. I couldn’t move from the hospital, you know? When everything started they promised they would evacuate all the patients from the hospital, but… they never did” Blaine lamented with the saddest smile Sam had ever seen on him. “The ones who could move escaped; the ones who didn’t… they died”

“Why didn’t you run?” Sam asked, even if he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

“Why do you think?” Blaine answered with a confused frown, as if that had been the most stupid question he had ever heard.

“You stayed for me?” Sam insisted, eyes huge with amazement and gratitude.

“You didn’t have anyone else” Blaine replied, as if that justified everything, as if he was not even aware of how amazing his actions were. “Your parents were warned when you were injured but… it all started before they could arrive. Maybe we are under some kind of quarantine and they don’t let anyone else enter the area, I don’t know. All communication has been broken, as well as electricity. The hospital had its own generator, that’s why the machines were still working”

“You’ve been fighting these monsters for two weeks to protect me?” Sam continued, as if in a trance, still unable to believe Blaine would sacrifice so much just for him.

“Of course, Sam” Blaine reassured him, once again taking Sam’s hand in his, and Sam wondered how many times he had done that while he was in a coma. “I… you’re my best friend. I couldn’t bear the thought of you turning into one of them”

Sam used the union of their hands to pull Blaine towards him and he engulfed Blaine in a strong embrace, knowing it didn’t really show how unbelievable grateful he was and how much he felt for the other boy, but still needing to do it. He buried his face in the crook of Blaine’s neck and closed his eyes, giving and taking comfort from the other boy at the same time, trying to come to terms with everything that had happened. At least, if you had to be in a situation like that, he wouldn’t want to be in it with anyone else than his beloved Blaine.

“You’re amazing, Blaine” he said, his voice shaking with emotion as he squeezed the smaller boy even more strongly to his chest in a sudden urge to feel him as near as possible. “I’ll never live enough to thank you for what you’ve done”

“I don’t want you to thank me” Blaine seriously answered as he broke the embrace and looked intently at Sam. “You being alive is enough for me”

“So you think my parents are alright?” Sam asked before they got too intense. After all, his emotions were a tornado right now, and he didn’t want to risk losing control of them. He knew how much Blaine worried about him, and he didn’t want to be a burden to him anymore if he could help it.

“There’s no reason for us to think that they are not” Blaine tried to reassure him as he fondly rubbed Sam’s thigh. “They just couldn’t get here, they must be dying with worry somewhere out there”

“And you were alone the whole time?” Sam asked. Two weeks were a long time in a situation like that.

“Not the whole time” Blaine answered, clearly trying to play down the importance of what he had done. “Some of the guys were there with us when it all started, but… they wanted to make sure their families were okay, or that’s what they said. They never got back”

“They left you alone?” Sam asked in astonishment: how could they do something to that to Blaine when he was only trying to save Sam’s life?

“It’s alright, they had to do it” Blaine quickly dismissed it.

“I can’t believe it, Blaine. I always knew you were an extraordinaire human being, but this is…” Sam tried to praise him, but Blaine was obviously not in the mood for that.

“It’s what anyone would have done” Blaine answered in a rush as he stood up and started covering Sam with a blanket he had found, in an obvious need to change subjects and get the spotlight off him. “We should get some sleep now. I put some pots and pans in every door and window so they will wake us with the noise if they manage to enter, which they shouldn’t. Fortunately, they’re pretty stupid, you know”

“Why were you in such a rush to leave the hospital, by the way?”

“Because it wasn’t safe. I managed to block our floor in the end, or at least I think so, but… too many entrances to the building. We couldn’t watch every one of them. The only reason I didn’t get us out of there before was because there you could still get serum and the machines told me your heart was still working. But as soon as you were awake, we needed to find a way out of there. And a small house with no back doors was the best option”

“You seem to have it all figured it out” Sam praised his friend in complete awe.

“I don’t, but… you get to learn a lot about survival when you need it, you’ll see that soon enough” Blaine answered with a sad smile as he tried to make himself comfortable enough to sleep in an armchair in front of Sam’s bed.

“What are you doing?” Sam asked as he saw his friend trying to curl in an impossibly small space.

“Trying to sleep” Blaine answered with an implicit _duh_ in his voice, because wasn’t it obvious?

“Don’t be silly, come here right now, there is room for both of us here” Sam immediately offered, raising his blanket for Blaine to get under it to make more of an impression.

“You need to regain your strength, you need to rest” Blaine refused, though Sam wasn’t going to surrender that easily.

“So? Are you planning on jumping on the bed during the night or something?” Sam joked, and he felt his heart about to burst with fondness when he managed to make Blaine chuckle for the first time in what felt like forever. The smile really suited him, much more than the worried frown he perpetually had on his face now and that Sam was growing to hate so much. “Come on, it’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before”

“Alright, but no kicking” Blaine warned him in a mockingly warning tone as he obeyed and got under the blanket, lying on his side towards the other boy.

“I’m not making any promises” Sam answered, turning on his side too so they were lying side by side, looking at each other.

They remained like that, in silence, for a long time, just looking into each other’s eyes –with the only light a small candle on the coffee table provided– and trying to be comforted by the other’s presence. Because it was still too difficult for Sam to believe everything he had seen or what Blaine had explained, to accept they were alone in their immediate world right now and that they would need to fight for survival in every step of the way. Blaine seemed to have everything under control, but Sam knew him better than that and he knew he was only pretending for Sam’s sake, that he was probably terrified in the inside. Terrified and something else… he looked almost devastated, as if he had lost something very important. Gosh, his family! Where the hell were they and why Sam hadn’t realized about that before?

“B, I just… your parents?” Sam asked, and his heart was not ready for the reaction he got of his best friend.

Blaine’s eyes filled with tears before he was even aware of what was happening and the tinniest sob escaped his lips, breaking Sam’s heart with the sadness that emanated from him.

“Oh my God, Blaine, did they…?” Sam didn’t dare to say the words as he let his hand rest on Blaine’s arm in a poor attempt of comfort.

“I don’t know” Blaine confessed, angrily sweeping a stray tear from his cheeks, as if he was embarrassed he had shed it in the first place. “I haven’t had any contact with them since all of this started”

“Then they could be safe and sound, right?” Sam tried to reason with him.

“Sam, I’ve been in that hospital for two weeks, and they knew where I was, if they were alive they would have…” Blaine tried to explain before his voice broke and he finally succumbed to the tears that had been threatening all along.

“We don’t know that, ok?” Sam rushed to say as he threw his arms around Blaine, unable to keep seeing him suffering like that, and held him strongly to his chest as Blaine sobbed his heart out. “A million things could have kept them from trying to find you”

“Sam, they are…” Blaine insisted, but Sam gently shushed him as he held Blaine’s head against his shoulder and let his fingers get lost in the soft curls in comforting patterns.

“No” he contradicted him, his own eyes filling with unshed tears at his best friend’s rough suffering. “We’re not assuming anything, ok? Until we know for sure, everybody we know is alive. Ok?”

“Ok” Blaine half-heartedly agreed, breathing deeply a couple of times as he tried to calm himself down, already embarrassed about his outburst.

“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through” Sam lamented as he forgot all about appearances and conventionalities and turned to lie on his back, bringing Blaine with him until he was nestling on his chest. They were suffering, and if the contact with each other could help them feel better, even if only slightly, he was not letting the chance pass.

“It’s ok now, you’re here and you’re alive. I’ve missed you so much, Sammy” Blaine confessed with a shaky voice as he hid under Sam’s chin and put his arm around the blond’s middle, holding strongly onto him as if afraid that the other boy would suddenly disappear.

“You’re not alone anymore, B” Sam promised as he kissed the top of his head. “We’ll make it together somehow”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so what do you think? Does it look interesting?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came out sooner than expected! Thank you all for the wonderful reception, by the way! :)

The first thing Sam noticed as he woke up next morning was the absence of Blaine’s body in his arms. Several times he had awoken through the night, his dreams plagued with horrific visions of dead bodies and threatening walkers, and all those times Blaine had been securely wrapped in his arms, lightly breathing against his chest as he slept. Or just resting, because some of those times he had been awake too. Too much going on in his head, Sam presumed. But even then, none of them had felt the need to move from each other’s arms –or more accurately, both of them had needed the contact desperately after the events of the previous days–. They only had each other now to rely on, and a little extra reassurance of how much they cared about each other was nice and necessary. And Sam wasn’t embarrassed to admit he missed the weight of Blaine’s head on his chest.

But that was Blaine he was talking about, he was hyperactive at best of times, so of course in a situation like that he was not going to stay in bed after dawn. Sam was sure he would have already found a thousand things they needed to do to be safe. And Sam couldn’t feel more grateful for the person he had ended living the apocalypse with. That person he could see was whetting some knifes with the help of a stone on the table a few feet from him.

“Morning” Sam’s rough voice resounded around the room, making Blaine jump with the unexpectedness of it.

“Shit!” Blaine exclaimed as the knife he had been holding slipped from his hand with the fright and traced a long red line under his thumb.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Sam immediately lamented as he jumped from the couch and walked to his friend –glad that at least he didn’t feel as dizzy as the day before and could manage a few steps on his own.

“It’s okay” Blaine, unsuprisingly, immediately forgave him with a smile.

“Let me” Sam asked him as he grabbed a cloth lying on the table and held it around his friend’s hand, hoping to stop the small bleeding, as he sat in front of him. “It doesn’t look too deep”

“It’s nothing” Blaine reassured him, and Sam was glad he didn’t look as upset as the day before –though Sam guessed that’s what two weeks of solitude while fighting for their lives would do to you, right?

“I’m sorry I scared you” Sam honestly apologized, though he reciprocated Blaine’s smile that suited him so much more than the frown of the day before.

“It’s okay, I guess I’m a little jumpy” Blaine admitted with an embarrassed smile. “How are you feeling today?”

“I’m feeling great, to tell you the truth” Sam answered, as if he couldn’t believe it himself.

“No more dizziness or stiffness in your muscles?”

“No, not at all. As good as new”

“I’m glad” Blaine answered with a warm smile to his friend that made Sam’s heart flutter in an unusual way. He was probably just glad to see Blaine smiling again, right?

“What are you doing?” Sam asked, more as a way to start a conversation than anything else, as he could already see what he was doing.

“I’m getting ready. We can’t have enough of those” Blaine explained as he thankfully extricated his hand from Sam’s grip and, after checking the cut was not bleeding anymore, he continued with his task with the knives.

“Ready for what?” Sam asked in surprise. “We are not staying here?”

“We can’t stay here” Blaine answered with a sad smile. “We don’t have any supplies, and we need to be around people”

“You don’t think we can make it on our own?” Sam asked, although he could see there was a lot of sense in Blaine’s words.

“For how long?” Blaine replied, trying to open Sam’s eyes to what their reality was now. “For all we know, this could be how life is from now on”

“Do you think it will never…” Sam insisted, desperately hoping Blaine would tell him not to worry, that everything would be alright. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy.

“I don’t know anything, Sam” Blaine answered, his heart breaking just at the thought of burdening Sam with more worries, even if he knew he needed to be honest with him. “Except that we can’t just wait for things to get better. We need to do whatever it takes to survive” Blaine continued, joining his hand with Sam’s again, this time without any healing purposes. “Are you with me?”

“Yes, of course” Sam answered without hesitation, as he trusted Blaine 100%, which he demonstrated by giving his hand a supporting squeeze.

“Then we need to go out there and find people”

“And where are we going?”

“I thought maybe...” Blaine said, hesitating, avoiding Sam’s glance as if he was ashamed of what he was going to say. “Maybe we could try to go to Westerville and...”

“And look for your parents?” Sam finished for him when he noticed Blaine wasn’t going to.

“I know I’m being selfish, but… I need to know, Sam” Blaine pleaded for his friend to understand, the frown from the day before appearing uninvited and marrying his beautiful features once again.

“Alright” Sam immediately answered, his heart breaking at the mere thought that Blaine could think he didn’t have the right to ask something like that.

“You don’t think I’m being selfish?” Blaine asked, and there was so much hope in his eyes that Sam would say no, that the latter only felt like wrapping him in his arms and never let go of him again.

“Blaine, please, you can’t be serious!” Sam gently reprimanded him, putting his other hand on top of Blaine’s so he was holding it between both of his. “You haven’t looked for them yet because you were taking care of me. Whatever you want to do from now on, I’ll just agree”

“You don’t have to do everything I want just because...” Blaine tried to protest, but Sam didn’t want to hear it.

“Yes, I do, Blaine. I really do. I owe you my life and...” he contradicted him, looking pointedly at him so he would know he was totally serious even if he softened his tone at the end at the sudden vulnerability he could see in his best friend. “I would do anything to get rid of that permanent sadness in your eyes”

“I’m sorry” Blaine answered as he looked down, half ashamed for his weakness, half moved that Sam cared about him so much.

“Please, don’t apologize” Sam replied, reaching with the tip of his fingers for Blaine’s chin so he would lift his face again, the thought of Blaine feeling ashamed breaking his heart. “Please”

“It’s just… it wasn’t easy” Blaine tried to justify his behavior.

“I know. But it’s alright now, as I told you last night you’re not alone anymore” Sam answered, giving Blaine a sympathetic smile that he was glad to see reciprocated. “We’re going to Westerville, we’re going to find your parents and then we’ll see what happens from then on, ok?”

“Ok” Blaine replied, his smile growing bigger with gratitude. “Thank you, Sammy”

“For what?”

“For letting me lean on you”

“You don’t have to keep strong for the both of us” Sam reminded him, once again squeezing Blaine’s hand. “I’m here for you too, you know”

“I know. And I’ve missed that” Blaine answered with a shaky smile.

“So how can I help?” Sam suddenly changed topics, because he could feel himself going emotional and it was the last thing they needed right then. “What do I do?”

“Well, you could go into the kitchen and pack all the supplies you think we could use” Blaine suggested as he continued with his task of whetting the knifes. “And see if you find a pantry somewhere, there’s bound to be more imperishable products there”

“Wow, you’re really good at this, you sound like MacGyver” Sam joked, even if the admiration he was feeling for his strong friend and his survival instinct was very real.

“Shut up” Blaine complained with a chuckle that to Sam sounded like celestial music.

**********

Sam managed to find quite a lot of food with long expiration dates that he efficiently packed in bags, smiling at himself because he knew Blaine would be proud of his work. And speaking of the short guy, Sam heard him walking towards him and turned around to find him standing behind him with the biggest knife he had ever seen.

“Here” Blaine said as he handed Sam the knife, along with a couple more, much smaller, that Sam obediently tuck into his pocket. “You need to have this with you at all times. Always. You never know when you’re going to need it”

“Ok” Sam easily agreed due to the seriousness in Blaine’s tone.

“Always aim for the head” Blaine continued, and it was kind of difficult for Sam to hear Blaine like that, rough and direct, instead of the sweet, optimistic lively version of him he was so used to. “It’s the only thing that really finishes them off. Nothing else works”

“Ok” Sam repeated, trying to concentrate on Blaine’s words instead of wondering when his sweet adorable little friend Blaine had become such an action hero.

“One swift movement, like this” Blaine said, and made an unexpected and quick demonstration on a half overriped watermelon lying on the counter that made Sam pity anyone who dared look at him the wrong way. “You have to press strongly to penetrate its skull and reach the brain”

“Alright” Sam answered, hoping his gulping wasn’t noticeable.

“I’m sorry if I’m being a bit brusque” Blaine immediately softened his stance, noticing Sam’s discomfort at his unusual aggressiveness. “But it’s important”

“Sure” Sam answered, even managing a little smile. He understood Blaine’s fears and his need for Sam to be ready for everything. And hey, it was alright, it was not like Sam was scared of him or anything. Just… surprised. “I get it”

“Good” Blaine answered with a relieved smile, as he had obviously been worrying about what Sam was thinking of that new him. “I’m going upstairs to see if there is anything else we can use. Maybe you can do the same here?”

“Sure” Sam replied before reaching to rub Blaine’s shoulder comfortingly, letting him know he approved of everything he said and did, and that he had Sam’s whole support.

“I’m scaring you, am I not?” Blaine asked, nervously biting his bottom lip.

“No, Blaine, of course not” Sam immediately contradicted him, feeling bad that Blaine would feel like that after everything he had done to keep them safe. “It’s the situation that scares me. You… you are being amazing”

“I wish” Blaine immediately refused the appraisal, not feeling that he deserved it –after all, he was only doing what was needed, right?. “I’ll be right back”

Sam watched his friend leave the kitchen and his heart went to him. The situation was horrible enough for Sam, who had just woken up to see his world completely upside down in the worst possible scenario he could have ever imagined. But he had had his best friend as an anchor to reality through the whole debacle, keeping him safe and patiently explaining what they needed to do to survive. It was different for Blaine: he had had to survive for two whole weeks on his own while making sure nothing happened to Sam for two weeks, he had been deliberately left to fight alone by his selfish friends while suspecting his parents were dead. He had seen the apocalypse happening without having anyone to share his pain. And he still felt responsible for Sam, he still felt he needed to take care of him, Sam could feel that responsibility lying heavily on his shoulders. And Sam would do anything to get rid of that sadness in his eyes and replace it with one of his million-dollars smiles –that one that Sam could swear it was only for him and always made him feel so special.

“Sam! Sam, come outside, please! I need you here!” Blaine’s voice coming from the garden at the front of the house took him out of his reverie a while later. What could possibly Blaine need of him and why the hell was he outside? Maybe he was in danger?

With his heart in his mouth, Sam grabbed the knife Blaine had given him strongly on his right hand and ran to the door. It was not locked anymore, as Blaine had obviously opened it to go outside. And even if he had no idea what could have brought Blaine to go outside without any warning, Sam ran, hoping it was not too late for his friend.

But it wasn’t. Blaine was simply standing next to the fence, waiting for him in apparent calmness –though Sam could tell he was not that calm, as his feet kept nervously patting on the floor. But what shocked Sam the most was how Blaine was just standing next to a walker, even if the walker was on the other side of the fence, trying to get to Blaine to bite him even if it couldn’t reach him.

“What are you doing?” Sam simply asked, resisting the urge to grab Blaine’s arm to take him a hundred miles away from that horrible creature.

“I hope you don’t think I’m crazy, but…” Blaine started, but he hesitated before continuing which worried Sam all the more.

“But what?” Sam encouraged him to continue.

“I thought you could practice… you know, with this one” Blaine stuttered as he pointed at the walker with his head.

“Now?” Sam asked, as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

“I can’t risk you being out there without knowing what to do” Blaine explained, and Sam could easily read in his face how much it pained him to ask him something like that, even if he felt he had no choice. “I thought it would be good if you could… see how it goes in a controlled situation, you know? When it’s only one and I’m here to help you if something goes wrong”

“I guess” Sam was forced to admit it made sense even if the only thing he wanted right then was to vomit with disgust. He knew Blaine was right, and he had seen enough since the day before to know he was going to need to fight for his survival from then on. But just the idea of doing it…

“You’re going to feel awful after finishing of the first one” Blaine warned, carefully avoiding using the word _killing_ so as not to make Sam feel even worse than he already was, judging by the sudden paleness of his skin. “But... just remember: they are not people anymore. We need to do it in order to stay alive”

“I understand” Sam tried to reassure his friend, though in the inside of his mind he was only screaming with fear and loathing.

“Are you ready?” Blaine gravely asked as his hand moved to the handle of the door in the fence.

“Not really” Sam answered even while nodding his head, and he took an even more ferocious grip on his knife. And when Blaine nodded back at him and opened the fence so the walker would get in the garden, his knuckles went white with the strength of his grip.

Sam stood petrified, rooted to the floor, as he tried to think about what the best strategy would be. Blaine had moved away from the fence so the walker would turn to Sam, and the latter had yet to decide how he should defend himself. Or attack, he shouldn’t wait for the walker to be a real threat before making a move. He tried to remind himself what Blaine had just said: it was not a person, and his survival depended on making sure it didn’t bite him. The walker wouldn’t take pity on him, he would devour him and leave him like those corpses he had seen in the hospital. It was not about defending oneself: as Blaine had said, it was either kill or be killed.

Even if those walkers didn’t seem so fast, this one got to Sam more quickly than he expected, taking him by surprise. Sam’s heart speeded up as he realized he had hesitated too much and the monster was now upon him. He tried to lift his arm to be able to stab the walker with his knife, but it was too late and before he could let his arm fall again, the monster reached him and pushed him until he made him fall, making him lose the knife in the process.

Sam bodily landed on his back and the monster fell on top of him. His odor was nauseating, the noise it made would surely give him nightmares, but Sam didn’t have the time to think about that as he grabbed its neck and tried to keep its mouth away from him. The walker, though, was persistent, and it fought with all its forces to escape from Sam’s grip so he could bit on his shoulder. And as terrified as the thought made him, Sam could feel himself losing the battle.

Before he knew what had happened, a sickening noise of breaking bones filled the place and put a stop to the walker’s struggling, who just ended up falling next to Sam in a puddle of rotten flesh. Panting with effort and adrenaline, Sam sat up to see Blaine standing in front of him with a terrified expression on his face and a bloodied knife on his hand that showed it had been him to finish the walker before he could really harm Sam.

“Are you alright?” Blaine asked with a voice full of worry as he offered a hand to his friend to help him stand up.

“Yeah” Sam answered, his voice still shaky as he took the offered hand and let himself be pulled upright. “It didn’t get me, don’t worry”

“You can’t hesitate” Blaine immediately reprimanded him, though Sam could see it was the fear of what had almost happened that was speaking for him. “If you hesitate you’re dead”

“It won’t happen again” Sam promised, trying to sound more confident than he really felt as he mentally willed his heart to lessen its pace a little.

“Maybe we should stay here” Blaine said in a lower tone, shaking his head, as if he was talking to himself. “You’re not ready for this, maybe we can make it work here somehow”

“Blaine, I’m sorry” Sam said, grabbing Blaine’s arms to get his attention and stop his wreck of negative thoughts. “I got scared, ok? But it won’t happen again”

“We don’t know that” Blaine contradicted him, though he let Sam’s touch comfort him.

“You’ll have to trust me” Sam begged his best friend. “I have trusted you so far, haven’t I?”

“Yes” Blaine admitted. After all, Sam had put his own life on his hands ever he woke up and he had yet to complain.

“It’s your turn now” Sam reminded him, though what he really wanted was to take the burden of feeling responsible for him out of Blaine’s shoulders.

“Are you sure?” Blaine asked, looking pointedly at him. He would blindly trust him if Sam asked him to, just as he had always done, but he didn’t want to force Sam into a situation he didn’t feel ready for.

“Completely” Sam answered with a confident nod –just what he knew Blaine needed.

“Then let’s go” Blaine finally relented with a sigh.

“Thanks, bro” Sam answered as he side-embraced his friend and patted his chest gratefully. “I won’t let you down. I promise”

“I believe you” Blaine assured him, managing a trusting smile for his friend. “And now let’s finish getting everything ready, ok?

“Ok” Sam answered as he led his friend, still under his arm, back towards the house.

“I bet you still haven’t done what I asked you about packing anything we might need” Blaine dared to joke until Sam looked comically enraged at him.

“Well, I would have if someone hadn’t interrupted me, you know!” Sam mockingly complained, and for once both let their guard down and lightly laughed together.

**********

They spent a good hour after that going through every one of the cupboards, closets and drawers in the house searching for things that could come useful in their escape. They felt bad going that way through other people’s stuff, but they knew they didn’t have any choice. The priorities in the world had changed, as well as what could be considered good and bad, and they didn’t even know if the owners of the house were alive.

“I found these” Blaine suddenly said as he appeared from upstairs awkwardly holding a gun and a rifle in his hands. “I think it’s the first time in my life I feel grateful for the Second Amendment”

“These might turn useful indeed” Sam answered with a smile.

“I don’t know how to use them, though” Blaine lamented with a sigh.

“I do. Here, let me” Sam replied as he took the rifle from Blaine’s hand and intently looked all along it.

“You know how to use a gun?” Blaine asked in astonishment. Apparently his friend would never cease to amaze him.

“Yes, my grandfather was a gun lover and he taught me to shoot when I was little. I never really liked it, but I guess I should be grateful now, shouldn’t I?” Sam explained as he rested the back of the rifle on his shoulder and looked through the scope. “Wanna test my aim?”

“No!” Blaine almost shouted, trying to stop him. “We shouldn’t use those unless it’s absolutely necessary. We don’t have that much ammunition and the noise could attract more walkers”

“Do you always think of everything?” Sam asked, half joking, half in awe at his very smart friend as he let go of the rifle and left it on the table.

“You have to” Blaine answered without any trace of joking in his voice. “Otherwise you’re dead”

Sam only nodded seriously at that, realizing once again how much Blaine had been forced to change in only a few days. He had always been strong and willful, but he also had that trademark sweetness and warmth that made Sam feel like the most special person in the world just because Blaine had chosen to be his best friend. But there was almost no trace of those qualities anymore. Now he was always serious and determined, he seemed to be always on alert and he hardly smiled anymore. And Sam knew all of that was needed to survive, but he missed his dorky laughter, their light and stupid superheroes conversations, his constant smile that seemed to light a whole room. And he promised himself he was going to bring them back somehow as soon as they were mildly safe.

Sam spent a few minutes teaching Blaine everything he knew about firearms, with Blaine avidly listening and nodding, making sure he would know what to do if he had to use one –which he was sure he would, sooner or later–. Sam marveled at how Blaine seemed to absorb all the information but after all he had always been a fast learner, and that lesson was much more important than anyone he had received before.

“And how are we going to travel, by the way?” Sam asked when both of them were sure there was nothing else to learn on the subject. “It’s a pity that car you used yesterday as a distraction is so far away down the street”

“It wouldn’t be of any use anyway, the battery must be flat by now after a whole day with the radio on” Blaine answered as he took something out of his pocket. “I found these keys next to the door, though. I bet they’re from a nice beautiful car waiting for us in the garage”

“It’s like it’s impossible to catch you without an answer!” Sam praised him loudly, eliciting a blush and a little embarrassed smile from his friend that immediately warmed his own heart.

Hoping against hope that Blaine would be right and there would be a car waiting for them, they went to the garage and couldn’t keep their mouths closed at the wonderful SUV they found there.

“Oh my God, look at this car!” Sam exclaimed, walking all around the car brushing the tip of his fingers all along its body. “It’s amazing!”

“It’s a nice car indeed” Blaine answered, smiling fondly at his friend even if he was not as excited about it as he was.

“Can I drive?” Sam asked, and it warmed Blaine’s heart to see so much excitement in him to the point he prayed Sam wouldn’t let himself change too much in spite of the situation, that he would never lose his essence. “Please, Blaine, I’ve never driven a car like that! Please, please, please!”

“Ok, you drive” Blaine answered with a chuckle as he tossed the keys through the air towards his friend’s hand. “Let’s pack everything in the car and we can get going”

“Can’t we eat something first?” Sam asked as he followed his friend into the house again, nudging him playfully.

**********

Sam breathed deeply a couple of times to encourage himself to turn the engine of the car on. They had already eaten a sandwich, packed everything up and gotten themselves in the car; and the moment of truth, to leave the false sense of security the house had provided for a whole day, had finally arrived.

He felt Blaine’s hand cover the one he had on the gearshift comfortingly and turned to look at him, who was sitting on the copilot seat, knowing the kind gaze and the warm smile he was going to find on his face.

“We’re gonna be alright” Blaine assured him with a nod of his head that Sam reciprocated before squeezing Blaine’s hand himself and finally turning the key.

When they reached the gate, Blaine looked carefully around them and, knife in hand, he ran out of the car to open it and returned to the car in record time, pretending not to notice how Sam sighed in relief once he was safely back inside.

“Use the central locking” Blaine remembered the driver, who immediately obeyed and started driving away from the house.

They could see some of the walkers that had been wandering along the street starting following them through the rear-view mirrors, attracted by the noise and the movement, but they knew they were not really a thread, being as slow as they were. After all, they would be gone before those monsters could get near enough.

“We did it” Blaine said after a couple of minutes of silence, once they couldn’t see any more walkers, releasing the breath he apparently had been holding.

“Of course!” Sam answered with an amused frown, as if offended at the doubt. “You planned it. There was no way we would fail”

“ _We_ did it, Sam” Blaine reinforced the subject of the sentence, as there was no way he was going to take credit for everything on his own.

“Yeah, we did” Sam confirmed with a grateful smile towards his friend.

“Isn’t it cold?” Blaine said after a while, turning the heat on as he rubbed his own arms.

“It’s very cold” Sam agreed because, even if he was not as sensible to the cold as Blaine was, he could still feel the winter cold seeping through his bones.

“It is” Blaine confirmed once again before slapping his own thigh in frustration. “And it will be much colder after dark. We should have grabbed some coats and blankets, damn it, how did I not think about that?”

“Hey, it’s okay” Sam answered, reaching for the same thigh Blaine had just slapped to squeeze it reassuringly. “You shouldn’t feel guilty. Both of us could have thought about that. It’s not only your responsibility anymore, you know?”

“I know” Blaine admitted with an apologetic sigh. “I just need to remind myself every now and then”

“Well, do, because we’re in this together, alright?” Sam reminded him, once again feeling awful about how much Blaine had had to go through for the last two weeks.

“Alright” Blaine agreed, letting his guard down for a second to give his best friend one of his trademark smiles –one of those ones he reserved only for him.

“We’ll grab some thicker clothing when we arrive to…” Sam tried to reassure him, but he stopped himself before he finished the sentence. After all, they really had no idea of what they might find once in Westerville, or in what conditions. “When we get somewhere”

“Sure” Blaine answered, grateful at his always supporting friend and how much he always seemed to understand him.

“And now you don’t seriously expect us to make the whole trip in silence, right?” Sam asked out of the blue, obviously aiming for a lighter mood and a bit of fun.

“The radio stations won’t work anymore, Sam” Blaine reminded him.

“So? Search in the glove compartment, I’m sure there will be some CDs there”

Blaine hurried to comply, thankful for the chance of having a bit of fun in the middle of all the chaos –that was one of the benefits of sharing the apocalypse with Sam Evans, after all, right? –, and was rewarded with a compartment full of CDs that he immediately took in his hands.

“Let’s see…” Blaine said in a mischievous tone that immediately warmed Sam’s heart –and  gosh, he had missed it!–. “There is Enya”

“Please, we don’t need to fall asleep as we drive” Sam replied with a frown.

“Then there’s… uh, Justin Bieber” Blaine continued, unable to stop a loud laugh at Sam’s terrified expression.

“What kind of people were those?” Sam complained exaggeratedly, aiming for another one of those dorky laughs of Blaine, which he fortunately elicited.

“Oh, so your belieber’s phase has passed?” Blaine turned to him, raising his eyebrows judgmentally.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Sam asked, pretending to be deeply offended. “I’ve never been a belieber!”

“Oh, my mistake, I suppose it was another guy singing _Baby_ solo in front of the Glee club, then”

“How the hell do you know that?” Sam practically yelled, mockingly outraged, and it was becoming too difficult not to burst out laughing at Blaine’s infectious laugh. “You were not even there!”

“Oh, please, you thought Tina wouldn’t tell me about something like that?” Blaine asked with a chuckle, though the mood changed drastically after a second at the mention of their friend, one of the many people they didn’t have a clue about their state, and they fell into silence again.

Not wanting for the old happy Blaine to disappear yet, Sam took the CD from his hand and carefully inserted it in the player.

For a couple of minutes they remained quiet, apparently absorbed in their own thoughts, but then Sam couldn’t help it anymore and started singing along with the music when _Baby_ started playing. He started softly, nudging Blaine every now and then to encourage him into singing too, to which Blaine responded with a refusing sad smile and a shake of his head. But when the chorus arrived and Sam started stupidly singing at the top of his lungs, nudging him continually, Blaine couldn’t help it anymore and joined him, both of them making complete full of themselves and forgetting about everything else for a couple of minutes.

“Thank you, Sam” Blaine said after the song ended and he finished off laughing his ass out.

“Anything to hear you laugh like that, dude” Sam answered honestly, and he had to laugh again as he noticed Blaine blushing slightly.

Blaine was about to answer when they noticed, somewhere in the distance, something in the middle of the road.

“What’s that?” Sam asked, squinting his eyes in the hopes of discovering what was coming in their way.

“It’s a bunch of walkers” Blaine answered, his voice trembling with fear as he finally was able to make out what it was.

“Oh my God, Blaine” Sam exclaimed, obviously very frightened at the unexpected encounter. “What do we do?”

“Keep driving, Sam” Blaine answered, trying to keep calm for the both of them.

“But they’re standing in our way!” Sam protested, his heart beating so fast that it felt about to burst now that their car was practically upon the walkers.

“Just… run over them” Blaine replied, the fear suddenly non-existent neither in his voice nor his eyes as he once again took control of the situation.

“What?”

“There is no other way! Keep driving!”

Sam wished he could close his eyes as they reached the group of monsters walking towards them and the car started knocking most of them down. He winced as the first body crashed against the windshield, and he felt like throwing up as all the windows starting getting covered with blood and pieces of rotten flesh.

“Keep driving, Sam” Blaine whispered next to him as he took his hand in his, wanting to reassure him he was trusting him with that task because he knew he could do it.

“There are too many of them” Sam said as he nervously accelerated, hoping to make that nightmare stop as soon as possible.

“We can do it” Blaine answered encouragingly even if he could see the windshield was starting to get too dirty for them to continue safely. “Just a bit more”

“Damn it!” Sam practically yelled in frustration, desperate to put an end to that situation, as he pushed the gas pedal to its limits and hit one of the walkers with so much force that it ended up on top of the hood and completely blocking Sam’s view.

“Sam, be careful!” Blaine yelled as he saw an abandoned car in the middle of the road towards which they were headed at full speed.

Sam didn’t have time to react, and they hit the other car with such a force that their own car flew off and overturned at the side of the road. After that, everything was silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, the cliffhangers! How I had missed them! ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG, the reception I'm getting with this story is so amazing that now I'm worrying I won't be able to mantain the interest all though it! I'm so afraid of disappointing you! I hope you can continue enjoying it as much as you've done until now!

Sam brought his hand to a focus of pain he could feel on his forehead, and was surprised to feel it sticky with blood. Fortunately he didn’t seem to be bleeding a lot, so he guessed it wasn’t as bad as it felt.

He realized he was lying on what was the roof of the car, which was overturned. Apart from the head, he couldn’t feel any more deep pains, only some probable bruises, so he knew he has escaped relatively unscathed from the accident. But what about his friend? He still hadn’t heard a word from him, and his heart went to his throat when he realized he was not at his side.

“Blaine?” he asked to the void, as he was appalled to receive silence as an answer.

Making a big effort, Sam was able to sit up so he could have a better view of everything around him. He didn’t know if he wanted to cry with relief or despair as he finally was able to see Blaine lying on his back outside the car, with only one foot inside through a window –he couldn’t see the other feet from his place–. He was there, alright; but he was not answering, and they were near enough so he would have heard him calling for him.

“Blaine?” Sam called him again, louder that time, praying to himself that Blaine would answer this time.

Sam pricked up his ears, desperate for any sound coming from his friend, but he heard something else instead: a hissing, a terrible bubbly noise he very well knew what meant.

Forgetting about any pains in an instant, Sam got on his knees and quickly crawled as best as he could through the car to Blaine’s side. If a walker had gotten to him and he was unconscious… Sam didn’t even want to think about it and only stopped for less than a second to get his knife from his pocket and held it between his teeth as he continued creeping towards his goal.

As he got out of the car through the same window Blaine has apparently flown off, he was slightly relieved to see that Blaine was not unconscious by any means, but fighting for his life with a walker that was desperately trying to bite him. Apparently, Blaine had lost his weapons with the fall and all he had to defend himself was his own strength. But as he held the walker at arm’s legs on top of him, Sam could see he was starting to wear himself out so there was no time for doubts if he wanted to save his life.

With the determination that only immediate danger could elicit, Sam grabbed one of the walker’s filthy feet and strongly pulled of it to get it away from his friend. Of course the walker hadn’t been expecting –and as Blaine had said the day before, there were pretty stupid– so it didn’t offer any resistance and in a matter of seconds it was not on top of Blaine’s anymore but lying on the cold hard ground in front of Sam. Then Sam straightened up on his knees, took the knife with his hands and let it fall with all his forces on the monster’s skull, killing it immediately.

Panting with effort and trying hard not to retch at what he had just done, Sam looked away from that thing and crawled the rest of the way towards his friend, who had yet to say a thing.

“Blaine” Sam said in a terrified tone as he laid his hand on Blaine’s chest, wanting to feel his breathing and taking comfort from it. “Blaine, tell me you are okay!”

“I’m okay, Sam” Blaine answered when he was able to find his voice –and Sam couldn’t say he blamed him, after the terror he had just experienced–. “Thank you”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sam asked as he put a hand under Blaine’s torso and helped him sit up. “It didn’t bite you?”

“No, you stopped it just in time” Blaine answered, gratefully, obviously very proud of his friend. “You were right, I should have truested you”

“And what about the accident? Did you get hurt?” Sam asked as he worriedly had a long look along Blaine’s body, looking for injuries he was hoping not to find.

“I don’t think so” Blaine answered, even though he hadn’t really had time to check. “What about you? You’re bleeding, Sam!” Blaine exclaimed when Sam turned his head around a bit and he was able to see the gash and the blood on the corner of his forehead.

“It’s nothing, I’m okay too” Sam answered, though he still winced as he touched the small wound he had completely forgotten about until that moment.

“I’ll still take care of it as soon as I can” Blaine assured him, gratefully squeezing Sam’s forearm while hoping Sam wouldn’t notice how much he was still shaking.

“Oh my God, I was so scared when you didn’t answer…” Sam confessed, apparently having noticed Blaine’s shaking after all and wanting him to know he was not the only one trembling with fear.

“Me too. Even when I was trying to fight that walker, I could only think _please, let him be okay_ ” Blaine confessed in a soft voice, a little more emotionally than he had intended, until both of them ended up blushing.

“Let’s get moving. We can’t stay here” Sam suggested as he stood up, trying to break the moment before any of them broke down. “Give me your hand”

“Sam, I can’t move” Blaine answered after a second, his face going white at drastic speed.

“What do you mean you can’t move?” Sam asked, a sudden fear filling his heart again. “Did you hurt your back?”

“No, it’s my foot. It’s trapped under the car” Blaine explained, and Sam could see that with all the commotion, Blaine was just realizing about that.

“You can’t move it at all?” Sam asked, trying to sound calm even when the only thing he wanted was to scream at the chance that they wouldn’t be able to move at all.

“No” Blaine answered, and Sam’s heart broke at his guilty expression.

“Let me see” Sam suggested, giving Blaine a little reassuring smile before walking to where his foot was trapped and gently grabbing his calf to try and move it. “Shit, it’s really stuck under there” Sam explained when he noticed Blaine’s leg hadn’t moved an inch under the heavy weight of the car. “Does it hurt?”

“I don’t know, it feels really numb” Blaine answered as he fought hard to hold back the tears, not wanting for Sam to see how much the situation scared him –what if they couldn’t get him from under the car? What if more walkers found them? What was going to happen when the sun went down and the freezing winter cold would get accentuated in the dark?

“Maybe if I try to pull you out…” Sam suggested, wishing with all his heart he could magically get Blaine from under that damned car and start compensating him for everything he had done for him.

Not waiting for an answer, he walked behind Blaine’s back and grabbed him under the armpits so he could pull of him. At first Blaine only winced, and Sam pretended not to notice as he pulled a bit more strongly. But when Blaine couldn’t keep it together any longer and screamed with pain in spite of himself, Sam knew no good was going to come out of it and stopped before letting himself fall on his knees in frustration.

“It’s not working, Sam” Blaine’s shaky voice broke the uncomfortable silence, and Sam could hear the tears in his voice even if was not crying, so he rested his forehead on the back of Blaine’s neck in an attempt of comfort.

“I’m so sorry!” he apologized to his friend for hurting him. “And I didn’t even move you, fuck”

“It’s my fault, Sam, I’m sorry” Blaine lamented. “Try again, I will not scream this time”

“No, B” Sam immediately contradicted him, squeezing his shoulder to show him he didn’t blame him at all. “That would only hurt you even further and no good would come out of it. I could dig you out of there if we had a damn shovel, but we don’t”

“What are we going to do?” Blaine asked, and Sam was glad he couldn’t see his friend’s face as only his shaky voice had been enough to break his heart. It was the first time Sam saw him having no answers since the whole debacle started, and that thought alone scared him more than any walker could.

“Maybe I can try moving the car” Sam suggested as he once again turned into action. He was not going to let Blaine down. It was his turn to offer some hope.

“Sam, you’re never going to be able to move it” Blaine answered with a frustrated shake of his head, knowing it was useless.

“We won’t know if I don’t try” Sam said in an encouraging tone as he walked back to the car and crouched with his back next to it, carefully getting his fingers under the roof of the overturned car hoping he could lift it just enough for Blaine to get his feet from under it. “Ok, be ready to pull it out”

“I’m ready” Blaine said as he put his hands on the floor and readied himself to crawl away from the car if Sam managed to move the car, even though he didn’t think it was going to happen.

Without any more warning, Sam used all of his strength to try and lift the car. His face had a strained expression and he was going red from the big effort he was making, Blaine observed while trying not to shed any tears because of the uselessness of it. Sam was strong, very strong, but he would never be able to move a car on his own.

The car hadn’t even moved an inch and Sam looked at the verge of fainting, so big it was the effort he was making. There was no way it was going to work, Blaine knew that. And, deep down, he knew Sam was aware of it too.

“Sam, stop!” Blaine yelled after a few more seconds. “You’re going to hurt yourself!”

Blaine could easily see Sam’s heart breaking through his eyes as he finally acknowledged he was not going to be able to help that way. With a cry of frustration, Sam stopped his efforts and stood up, awkwardly standing while trying to decide what to do.

“Damn it!” Sam shouted after half a minute, kicking the car with all his forces before resting his back against it again and letting his body slid until he was sitting on the floor, facing his friend.

“It’s okay, Sam. You tried” Blaine tried to comfort him when Sam raised his knees in front of him and hid his face behind them.

“Don’t” Sam warned him in an unpleasant tone, obviously not ready yet to be absolved.

“Listen to me, Sam” Blaine continued, ignoring Sam’s warning. He knew there was no hope for him, but he needed to get Sam out of there because any more walkers appeared. “You need to…”

“If you dare to suggest that I go and leave you here, so help me, Blaine” Sam answered, lifting his face to look intently at his friend, and there was so much anger in his voice that Blaine felt almost scared for a second.

Silence fell upon them for a couple of minutes as they tried to come to terms with what was happening. Blaine was afraid to talk in case he got Sam even angrier, and Sam was trying to calm himself down so as not to pay his frustrations on the other boy and make him feel as if it was his fault.

Still not uttering a word, Sam got up, ignoring the curious glances Blaine was sending his way, and moved to where the walker he had killed just a few minutes ago was still lying. For the first time, he took some time to have a good look at one of those creatures and what he saw made him want to burst into tears. Now that it was not moving, it looked indeed like a corpse. Full of blood, mutilated and with a very specific yellow tone on its flesh, but a corpse nonetheless. Already in an advanced state of decomposition, as if it had been resting in peace for some time. While unmoving and not trying to bite Blaine’s head off, it didn’t look that threatening, and that made Sam wonder who that old man had been. How he had died. If he had suffered.

But he didn’t have the time for that. They couldn’t let themselves be pulled into a spiral of despair and pity for those monsters who only wanted to eat them alive. He suddenly felt the same disgust and hate he had felt for the walker when he was attacking Blaine and, in one swift movement, he grabbed its foot again and dragged him some feet away from where Blaine was half lying on the floor and out of his sight.

“What are you doing?” Blaine asked, tentatively, when Sam came back to him.

“I don’t want you lying next to that thing” Sam explained, much more kindly than five minutes ago, sorry to see how Blaine was afraid of saying the wrong thing and sending him into a rage again. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, B”

“It’s okay” Blaine unsurprisingly forgave him immediately, even managing a little smile for his friend. “I get it”

“You’re shivering” Sam observed after a while with a worried frown.

“The ground is really cold” Blaine explained as he tried to keep his teeth from chattering so Sam wouldn’t know how amazingly cold he was feeling. “What are we going to do?”

“I guess we can only wait for someone to come this way and help us” Sam suggested, looking up to the road from which they had fallen.

“And what if…?” Blaine tried to ask, but Sam wasn’t willing to throw in the towel.

“Someone will” Sam promised, trying to sound more confident than he was really feeling for Blaine’s sake.

“Alright” Blaine reluctantly agreed, if only for Sam’s benefit because he didn’t think they stood most of a chance.

“Maybe we should try starting a fire?” Sam suggested as he worriedly noticed Blaine’s shivering increasing by the second.

“No, it will only attract more walkers” Blaine immediately refused, his survival instinct kicking in again. “You know they haven’t come yet because they can’t detect us from the road, right? The fire will only tell them we’re here”

“You’re right” Sam was forced to admit, even if it pained him to see Blaine in such distress. “But you’re so cold…”

“I’ll survive” Blaine reassured him with a grateful smile. “It’s not like I haven’t been cold before, you know”

“Yeah, I know” Sam answered, allowing himself to chuckle as he reminisced about their life before the apocalypse. “I’ve slept at yours a thousand times, remember? I very well know who is the biggest blanket stealer ever”

“I don’t do that!” Blaine protested, mockingly indignant.

“Oh, please! You always leave me with nothing”

“That is so not true!”

The noise of a branch splitting behind them made them fall into immediate silence, their hearts in their throats at the imminent danger. Fortunately, though, only a little squirrel appeared from behind a tree and passed them by in its search for some food.

“We need to keep it quiet” Sam reminded Blaine after letting a big relieved sigh out. “We can’t be careful enough”

“You’re right” Blaine answered, willing his heart to regain its normal pace. “We should take care of that wound on your forehead, by the way”

“I told you it’s nothing” Sam tried to dismiss Blaine’s worries.

“It will be once I take care of it. I left a first-aid kit in the trunk, could you get it for me, please?”

“Alright” Sam finally relented as he went to comply with his friend’s wishes. He knew his injury was nothing to worry about –he had completely forgotten about it, after all–, but he also knew it would make Blaine feel better to take care of it, as if he still needed to make sure at all times that Sam was alright. This time, though, Sam could not do anything to make him feel better, because as soon as he tried to open the trunk of the overturned car, he realized it was no longer possible. “I can’t open it. It’s stuck”

Blaine sighed deeply at that, as if he couldn’t believe the bout of bad luck they were experiencing. They had lots of food, medicines and he even remembered to have seen a blanket before they got in the car. But all of that was in the trunk. And they couldn’t open it.

“Get me that water bottle lying there and come here, please” Blaine asked his friend, who immediately complied again.

Sam sat right at his side, facing him, and was only mildly surprised when Blaine tore a long strip from his undershirt and profusely wetted it with the bottle Sam had handed him.

“That was a nice T-shirt you just ruined” Sam joked, glad to elicit a little chuckle from his friend before he took his hand to the offending wound on his forehead.

“What I wouldn’t do for you, right?” Blaine joked back, though both of them knew there was a lot of truth in his words.

“Thank you” Sam warmly said as Blaine very carefully cleaned the wound, trying for it not to start bleeding again, and then he tenderly erased the traces of blood along Sam’s face with the improvised cloth.

“Are we going to be okay, Sam?” Blaine asked with the smallest voice Sam had ever heard on him, letting himself fall into a deflated state for the first time since everything started and needing some reassurance that they were going to make it instead of giving it.

“Of course, Blaine” Sam confidently answered as he hurried to put his arms around his short friend and held onto him with all his forces, knowing this time it was up to him to make sure Blaine would be alright. And he had no intention of failing, he promised himself as he felt Blaine rest his face on his shoulder, trustingly. “We’ll get out of this”

**********

Just an hour later Blaine couldn’t stop the chattering of his teeth anymore. It was close to sundown and the ground was getting increasingly damp as the time passed. And if that wasn’t enough, he could hear the horrible gurgling noise those walkers made up at the road increasing, which meant that there were more of them there than before. They probably could sense they were near somehow –maybe they could smell them–, so they were gathering there even if they couldn’t find them.

He had been so distracted that he failed to notice that same noise coming from the forest behind him as a lonely walker found them. Fortunately, Sam had noticed it and placed himself between Blaine and the monster, acting as a shield for his immobile friend. Blaine winced at Sam was forced again to confront one of those creatures, but he didn’t need to worry: without even making a sound, Sam stabbed its head in one swift movement, like Blaine had taught him to do, and was pulling him away before Blaine could even find his voice.

“It’s just a matter of time until more of them find us” Blaine whispered at Sam’s back as the blond pretended to clean his knife on a rock nearby so as not to have to look at him.

“I know” was the only thing he answered.

“Look, it’s going to get dark very soon, and it’s going to be even colder, you need to leave” Blaine suggested, not willing to back down this time even if Sam got angry again.

“No” Sam answered, still trying to remain calm as his best friend pleaded him to leave him behind, just like that.

“There is no point in both of us freezing to death here” Blaine begged, wishing he could shout at his stubborn friend to get some sense into that thick head of his. He could feel the first signs of hypothermia in him, and he didn’t want Sam to go through that too.

“What are you talking about, Blaine?” Sam finally turned around to face him. “I’m not leaving you here!”

“Sam, please. You can go and get help” Blaine begged again, his voice shaking with fear that his friend wouldn’t listen to him.

“Where?” Sam asked with a sarcastic laugh.

“I’m sure we’ve not searched well enough, maybe if you go back to Lima…” Blaine tried to convince him, knowing he wasn’t making any sense, but he just wanted to get Sam out of there.

“I’m not falling for that and I’m not leaving you here all alone, you hear me?” Sam answered and for once Blaine cursed the fact that his friend could see through him so easily.

“It’s the only chance we’ve got”

“I said no, Blaine, don’t insist”

“Damn you, Sam, just go!” Blaine almost shouted, stopping himself before it was too late, his eyes getting glassy with tears of frustration. “I didn’t keep you alive for this, you know?”

“Yet you did. You kept me alive” Sam reminded him, kneeling in front of him so they could be at eye level for a moment. “You stayed with me for two weeks and now you expect me to just leave you here at the drop of a hat”

“Sam, please…”

“It’s not going to happen”

“If something happens to you I’ll never forgive myself”

“How do you think I would feel leaving you here like that, when you can’t even move to defend yourself?” he said, not wanting to go any further about how Blaine would probably end up devoured by those horrible creatures without a chance of escaping. That considering that the cold wouldn’t kill him first.

“I just want you safe” Blaine pleaded, furiously catching with his finger a tear he hadn’t been able to contain.

“Exactly the same I want for you” Sam answered, softening his stance at the obvious suffering of his friend.

“I know, Sam, but…”

“So please, don’t ask me to go again” Sam interrupted him as he stood up as a signal that the conversation was over. “I’m not leaving you here and that’s final. We’re in this together. To the end”

As Sam turned his back to him and busied himself with trying to gather everything they had in the car that was not in the trunk –the guns, fortunately, had been on the backseat, as well as a couple of water bottles–, Blaine buried his face in his hands at that and silently wept.

**********

After two more hours, the darkness was already intense and the cold have swept through Sam’s bones to the point he couldn’t stop shivering, even as he kept walking around Blaine and the car every now and then to keep his body as warm and active as he could. Damn it, if he was that cold he couldn’t even imagine how Blaine must be feeling, not being able to move and lying on the cold and damp ground.

Sam turned to look at his friend, who had remained mostly silent since his last attempt of convincing Sam to leave without him, and didn’t like it one bit when he found him completely lying down on his back on the floor and with his eyes closed. He was not moving at all and, if it wasn’t for the ferocious shivering, there would be no apparent signs of life in him. And Sam knew enough about hypothermia to know that Blaine had been over the first stages of it a long while ago and was dangerously close to a critical point.

“Don’t fall asleep, B, come on. You need to hold on” Sam encouraged him as he sat at his side. “I didn’t come back from the dead to see you won over by a car, right?”

“No” Blaine answered, as the chattering of his teeth made it difficult to say much more.

“You need to stay awake” Sam insisted when he noticed Blaine had yet to open his eyes.

“I’m… so tired, Sam” Blaine answered, his words interrupted by his own shaking.

“No, no, no, no, I’m not letting you give up, Blaine” Sam answered, fear gripping his heart as if a fist was squeezing it, as he raised Blaine’s upper body from the floor and let it rest on his own chest so he could wrap his arms around him and offer him some extra warmth in the form of body contact. He was about to offer him some water from the bottle lying next to him when he noticed it was frozen, so he didn’t say anything about it. “Come on, talk to me”

“What do.. you want me… to say?” Blaine stuttered, and Sam knew he was making the biggest effort to stay awake just for him, which only made him admire the smaller boy even more than he already did.

“I don’t know, Blaine, anything” Sam answered while vigorously rubbing Blaine’s arms to try and reactive his circulation. “Where do you think we should be going on vacation when all of this is over?”

“Vacation?” Blaine asked in surprise.

“Of course! You and I are taking some well deserved holidays when this is over!” Sam continued, trying to keep Blaine awake and getting him to think about nicer things at the same time. “We’ve earned it! Where do you want to go?”

“Somewhere warm” Blaine answered with a little mischievous smile, eliciting a heartfelt laugh from his friend at the unexpectedness of it.

“Of course, I’m totally with you” Sam agreed between laughs as he rested his face against the side of Blaine’s own. “Only sun and palm trees and mojitos on the beach. How does that sound?”

“Amazing”

“We’re going to have an amazing time, you’ll see”

“Just… promise me… something” Blaine, unable to say a whole sentence without being interrupted by his shivering, turned serious all of a sudden.

“Whatever you want” Sam agreed immediately, even if his heart was beating like crazy with fear at what Blaine was about to say.

“That you… will go even… if I can’t go with… you” Blaine said, looking intently at his friend.

“And why wouldn’t you be able to go with me?” Sam asked, not wanting to believe what he knew Blaine meant.

“Just promise… me” Blaine insisted.

“Blaine, we’re going to make it out of this one, alright?” Sam promised him instead, not being able to pretend he was not getting what Blaine was saying anymore. “I’m not letting you give up. Please, B, I need you to fight”

“I’m trying” Blaine answered with a strained expression, horrified that Sam could think he was letting go without a fight.

“I know” Sam immediately reassured him as he squeezed him even more strongly to his chest. “You are the strongest person I know, B. Look at what you did for me”

“I didn’t… do anything anybody… else wouldn’t have done” Blaine replied, as he didn’t think he deserved any appraisal for doing what needed to be done.

“The hell you didn’t, Blaine” Sam insisted, shaking him to get some sense into him. “You were amazing. You were so brave and selfless and strong and you kept me alive. I’m never going to be able to compensate you for that”

“Sam, I… didn’t stay for… you”

Sam’s eyes started filling with tears as he noticed the last of his forces starting to abandon his friend. His eyes looked vacant and he was starting to sound as if he was not really aware of his surroundings anymore. His lips were starting to turn blue, and Sam could swear his shivering was starting to diminish –which he knew was not a good sign at all–. And on top of that, he was not even making sense anymore. What the hell did he mean that he had not stayed at that hospital for Sam?

“What do you mean?” Sam asked, both because he knew he needed to keep Blaine talking and because he needed an answer.

“I wasn’t that… selfless. I stayed for me, because I couldn’t… picture my life without you” Blaine answered, his voice slurred with sleep and softer at every word, making it difficult for Sam to understand what he was saying.

“Blaine…” Sam said, but the sob that escaped his own throat at his friend’s suffering stopped him before he could say anything else.

“I’m not a good… person” Blaine continued, apparently lost in his own world. “I don’t think… I would have stayed for… anybody else…”

“Blaine, you’re a good person” Sam replied, once again resting his face to the side of Blaine’s head to the point his tears wetted Blaine’s curls. “Gosh, you’re the best person I’ve ever known, and you saved my life”

“Because I didn’t… want to lose you”

“B…”

“I love you, Sam” Blaine confessed, as if that was the only reason he had done what he had done. “Just remember… that”

“Blaine, hold on, please” Sam begged his friend while openly sobbing at what sounded like a farewell. “Don’t you even think I’m letting you say goodbye to me” Sam continued and his heart stopped when Blaine didn’t answer anymore and he realized his eyes were finally closed. “Open your eyes, B! Stay with me!”

But Blaine didn’t open them anymore, even when Sam violently shook him and sobbed and pleaded for him to stay awake.

**********

Sam didn’t know how much time it had passed since he fell asleep when his head fell suddenly backwards and jerked him awake. Maybe just a few minutes? Maybe an hour?

His heart in his throat, he looked down at the boy in his arms to see how he was fairing. Blaine was not shivering anymore, and his whole skin had a bluish shade that Sam could clearly see even in the moonlight. His hand trembling with cold and fear, Sam brought a hand under Blaine’s neck and tried to find his pulse. It was there alright, but too slow for Sam’s taste. He knew Blaine was fading fast, and he wouldn’t hold on much longer. There was no way he would make it until the sun rose again.

It was his fault, Sam realized as more tears came to his eyes. He should have listened to Blaine and tried to find some help. How the hell did he think Blaine was going to survive a whole night out in the freezing cold while lying on the ground? But what was the alternative? To leave him there and risk him being found by those dozens of walkers wandering so close to them? Even if he had left him the gun and the rifle, there was little he could do to defend himself without being able to move. And thinking coolly about it, if he had to die that night, it was better to die from hypothermia than being devoured alive by those monsters, right?

A heartbreaking sob broke on his chest at the thought of losing Blaine, whatever the way. He could completely understand now why Blaine hadn’t left him while he was on a coma. Sam would do absolutely anything in his power to save him right now. But he could only content himself with holding him in his arms with all his forces and be with him when the time came. It was the least he could do for him, even if Blaine wasn’t aware of anything anymore.

Sam thought about the last words Blaine had said before falling unconscious. He had told him that he loved him, Sam remembered. And it was not something new: they had been the closest of friends for a long time now, and they had never been afraid of demonstrations of affection. They had told each other _I love you_ more than a couple of times, after all. But that had sounded… different, right? As if Blaine had been making a big confession. As if he needed for Sam to know just how deeply his feelings for him went. As if the crush he had on him and had confessed only a few weeks ago during the guilty pleasures week was much more profound than that.

Could it possibly mean…? What Blaine had said, about having saved Sam because he couldn’t live without him… It was all too much, and Sam couldn’t think about that now. Not when his best friend, probably the person he cared the most about in the whole world, was dying in his arms. Not when he couldn’t do anything about it. Not when he had been doubting his own feelings for the curly-haired since he awoke from his coma and found him sleeping at his side. If Blaine was to die that night… it was better not to think about any of that.

He had been so abstracted in his own thoughts that he had failed to hear the sound of a lonely walker coming to them until it was practically upon them. Knowing it was too late for him to stand up and fight him, especially considering that Blaine was lying practically on top of him and that his own muscles were starting to feel really numb and slow, Sam knew the only thing he knew he could do: he grabbed the gun resting next to him and shot.

He was relieved when his aim didn’t fail him and the walker fell at his feet with a bullet in its brain. But his relief was short lived when the shot attracted the rest of the walkers on the road above, as he had expected, and they started descending the drop between the road and where they were sitting.

“This is it, Blaine” he whispered to himself as he raised the gun in front of him towards the walkers with one hand and held onto Blaine more strongly with the other. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you”

Then he started shooting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehe, the best thing about action stories are all the cliffhangers!! ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, remember when I said I didn't know if I would be able to post one chapter a week? ;)
> 
> Not that happy with this one as with the other ones, but well... Enjoy it anyway! More soon! :)

Sam could hardly see through his tears as he shot one bullet after another, some of them finding their destination and making some of the walkers fall before they were even near them. He was shouting with desperation at every shot, obviously not feeling the need to keep silent any longer, and he was clutching Blaine so strongly he was sure he was leaving bruises on his freezing skin.

But he would run out of bullets soon, and he wouldn’t have the time to reload the gun before they were on them, even if he could find the extra magazines Blaine had packed. The thought of just standing up and running and leaving Blaine there never even crossed his mind, and when the gun was finally empty, and the closest walker was only a couple of feet away from them, Sam only closed his eyes, wrapped himself completely around the other boy in a desperate and useless attempt of protection, and prayed that it would be quick and neither Blaine or him would have to suffer a lot.

But Sam never got to feel anything. Not a walker touched him or the precious burden in his arms because a shot stopped them first. And then another one. And another. And when Sam dared to open his eyes again, he saw two people at the edge of the road where they had fallen from hours ago, standing against the lights of their own car, shooting incessantly towards the remaining walkers until there was not a single one standing.

“Hey, you there!” one of them shouted when the terrible noise from the shooting stopped. “Are you alright?”

“No” Sam answered with a rough voice, and had to clear his throat a couple of times before he could attempt raising his voice. “Please, please, help me! My friend needs help! Urgently!”

He guessed that the desperation had been very evident in his voice, as the two people –two young men– only looked at each other and wordlessly started running down the drop from the road.

“We did it, Blaine” Sam said, trying to swallow the last of his tears as he rested his head on top of his friend’s. “We survived”

The other two boys hurried to them and didn’t stop until they were right in front of Sam, who was already carefully resting Blaine on the floor to stand up.

“Evans?” one of them asked in utter surprise, so Sam squinted his eyes even further to try and guess who that person was even if he was still standing against the light.

“Sebastian? Sebastian Smythe! Oh my God, I can’t believe it” Sam said as he jumped to embrace the taller guy, not been able to hide his excitement and relief at the familiar face, before turning to the other boy to embrace him too, remembering him as being another one of the warblers. “And I can’t remember your name, I’m so sorry, though I know Blaine likes you very much”

“It’s Trent” the other boy answered with a smile, not offended by any means.

“Guys, I really need help” Sam said, his voice filled with desperation again, as he moved slightly aside so they could see the boy on the floor. “It’s Blaine”

“Blaine?” Both of them asked in unison, unsurprisingly, as Sam knew they both felt quite deeply for him.

“What happened to him?” Sebastian asked as they all gathered and knelt around the unconscious form of their friend.

“We had an accident and he is trapped under the car” Sam answered as he signaled at Blaine’s trapped leg, finding it quite difficult to contain his tears at the relief he was feeling –and the guilt he hadn’t been able to do anything for him–. “I couldn’t get him out of there”

“Is he hurt?” Trent asked, wincing sympathetically as he got to take a closer look at his former classmate, who looked as if he was unconscious.

“I don’t know, but he’s freezing, he’s been lying on the cold floor for hours” Sam patiently explained, though the only thing he wanted was to rush them into action. “He’s hypothermic and has been lethargic for a while now. Do you have any blankets?”

“Yes, there has to be a couple of them in our car” Trent replied and he stood up to run back towards their own car without even waiting for an answer.

“Open your eyes, B. Come on, open your eyes for me” Sam tenderly pleaded as he hovered over his friend and cupped his face between his hands, which were still shaking, and Sebastian could have sworn a relieved tear ran down Sam’s cheek when Blaine’s eyes finally opened and turned to look at him, though it was hard to say in the darkness. “That’s it, buddy, you’re doing great”

Sebastian felt like crying himself in sympathy at the emotion he could see in Sam’s face as the blond tenderly moved some stray curls from Blaine’s forehead. He couldn’t imagine what those two must have been through for Sam to be that terrified. But before he could ask, Sam started talking to his friend again, his whole attention on the smaller guy.

“Hey, I got us some help!” Sam continued in his soft and reassuring tone, almost as if he was talking to a wounded animal, though Blaine didn’t look as if he was understanding a word even if he was still looking at him. “Didn’t I tell you someone would come? And not just anybody! Look who it is”

“Hey, Killer” Sebastian said when Sam pointed at him, and even managed a small smile when Blaine’s eyes turned to him and there was a hint of recognition in them.

“We got help, B” Sam added as he turned Blaine’s confused face towards him again. “Your friend Trent is here too and they’re going to help us so we can get you out of here”

Blaine still didn’t answer, and he looked completely disoriented and exhausted, but he managed the smallest smile at his friend’s words –or just at his loving ministrations, Sebastian didn’t know– and it was all Sam do not to burst into tears at that vision, so he contented himself with bending over and placing a long and tender kiss on Blaine’s forehead that made Sebastian wonder if maybe something had happened between them since the last time he and Blaine had talked, a couple of months ago. It surely looked as if their friendship had evolved towards something else in that time, but he knew it was neither the place nor the time to ask. Especially considering Blaine was still in immediate danger and Sam was beside himself with worry.

“Here” Trent appeared out of the blue and handed Sam three blankets which he immediately tucked Blaine in as securely as he could. “I thought this could be useful too”

Sam nervously laughed with relief as he saw what Trent was holding in his hand: a beautiful and magnificent jack they could use to lift the car from Blaine’s foot.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you guys finding us” Sam said, still fumbling with the blankets so only Blaine’s face would remain uncovered.

“You didn’t deserve what happened to you both either, so…” Sebastian replied as he took the jack from Trent’s hands and got into action, stopping Sam before he could move from his place. “You stay with him. Someone will have to pull him out when we lift the car, after all”

“Alright” Sam answered gratefully. He didn’t really like delegating the job of getting Blaine out of his imprisonment in others –Blaine was his responsibility after everything they had gone through together–, but Sebastian was right: Blaine wasn’t going to move on his own, and Sam preferred not to move from his side if he could help it.

As Trent and Sebastian worked to lift the car, Sam once again lifted Blaine’s upper body from the ground and wrapped him up with the blankets before taking him into his arms and vigorously rubbing his arms in an attempt of warming him up. And though Sam knew it was too soon to see any improvement on him, he let himself be comforted by the fact that Blaine hadn’t closed his eyes again and seemed to be looking curiously at everything happening around him.

“Ok, Sam, we’re ready” Trent said. “I don’t know if this is going to hold on for too long, so be ready to pull Blaine out as soon as possible”

“I’m ready” he confirmed the other two boys just as soon as he broke their embrace to grab Blaine under his armpits, just as he had done a few hours before, though this time it seemed more probable that it would work.

With the help of the jack, it didn’t take them too long to lift the car just enough to free Blaine’s leg, and Sam hurried to drag him a few feet away from the car, much more than was really needed, just in case. He wanted to check his leg and make sure it wasn’t broken or anything, but he knew getting him to safety –and warm– was the priority now.

“We need to get him warm as soon as possible” Sam explained as he fixed the blankets around his friend again. “I don’t know where you were going but... would you…?”

“Of course we will take you with us, Sam” Trent answered kindly, as there was no way they were going to leave them there.

“I’ll help you carry him to our car” Sebastian offered as he moved in front of Blaine so he would be able to take his legs. “Trent, you cover us in case more walkers decide to come to the party”

“Be careful with his leg” Sam couldn’t stop himself from warning the other boy, though Sebastian looked almost offended at the thought that he would do anything that could hurt Blaine.

“I know, Sam” he patiently answered while Sam carefully put his arms under Blaine’s upper body and they lifted him between the two of them.

Very slowly and cautiously so as not to jostle the injured man, Sebastian and Sam started making their way to the car, closely guarded by Trent who was holding his weapon in his arms in case he needed to protect the others. The ascent towards the road wasn’t that easy with the important load in his hands, but fortunately Blaine was a small guy and wasn’t that heavy, so they knew it could have been worse.

Sam looked quizzically at the car waiting for them at the top of the slope, as it didn’t go with Sebastian’s sophisticated style at all –it was old and dirty, and Sam could bet it had a lot of miles under its wheels–, but the latter noticed and turned to him with a smirk.

“What’s wrong, Evans? Were you expecting a limousine?”

“No, of course not” Sam answered, blushing at having been caught in his musings. “If it can provide us with shelter and transportation, it’s good enough for me”

“It’s the only car we could find” Trent explained as he opened the door to the backseats for them.

“Do you want to go in the front, Sam?” Sebastian offered, even if he already knew the answer.

“No, I prefer to go in the back with Blaine” Sam answered once his best friend was safely tucked into the car.

“Here” Sebastian offered as he took off his jacket and offered it to the blond. “I know you’re not going to take any blanket from Blaine so at least wear that”

“There’s no need…” Sam tried to refuse, surprised at Sebastian’s generosity –after all, everything he had seen from him the few times they had met hadn’t been that good, even if Blaine had tried to convince him more than once that he was a good guy under all that attitude.

“Please, you’re shivering like crazy, you are not that far from hypothermia yourself” Sebastian insisted as he helped Sam into the jacket himself so he wouldn’t be able to refuse.

“Ok, thanks” Sam sincerely thanked him before getting in the car next to his friend.

Once inside, Sam resumed the position that had become so familiar to them in the last hours and lifted Blaine’s upper body to hold it to his chest, equally wanting to keep him warm and needing to feel him close, so he could be sure his heart was still beating at all times. For both of them.

“I’m sorry, Sam, the heating doesn’t work” Trent announced once he got into the driver’s seat with a guilty expression. “We already tried but it’s a pretty old car”

“It’s okay” Sam answered with a tired sigh, because he didn’t want their rescuers to feel guilty. “It’s still warmer than out there, and the blankets are really great. Plus I’m not sure it would be wise to try and get him warm too quickly”

“What happened to you two, Sam?” Sebastian asked as soon as they started driving. “How did you end up trapped under a car in the middle of nowhere?”

“It’s a long story” Sam said, sighing again, as if it was the only thing he still had enough forces to do. “To sum up, just before… all of this happened, I got on an accident and I was in coma for two weeks and when everything started… only Blaine stayed with me”

“He stayed on his own?” Sebastian asked, astounded at the short boy’s strength.

“You bet he did” Sam answered with a proud smile, looking tenderly at the sleeping boy in his arms. “He managed to keep us both alive, but as soon as I woke up we escaped from the hospital and we were travelling to Westerville to see if we could find his parents when he had an accident with the car”

“There is nothing left in Westerville” Trent answered with a sad tone. “Most people died, and the rest escaped. The whole city burnt down in a stupid attempt of finishing off those biters”

“Biters?” Sam asked in curiosity.

“How do you call them?”

“Blaine calls them _walkers_ ”

“I guess it all started so suddenly that we don’t even have a name for them” Trent sadly answered. Sam had hardly talked with the boy before –only when he had confessed about the Warblers doing asteroids a few months ago– but he could see now why Blaine had such a good opinion of him.

“So there is nothing left in Westerville?” Sam asked, not wanting to believe all their suffering had been for nothing; that they wouldn’t be able to find Blaine’s parents after all. “Anything?”

“No. Even Dalton burnt to the ground” Trent explained, and even if he kept a neutral tone on his voice, Sam could tell they had gone through a lot, just as he and Blaine had. “Most of the boys whose families didn’t live in Westerville and were still at Dalton, like us, died in the fire. We were lucky to escape”

“Shit” Sam lamented rubbing his forehead in frustration. “I was so hoping we would find Blaine’s family. He thinks they’re dead and that will just give him more reason to believe it”

“Sam, it’s… it’s highly probable that they didn’t make it” Sebastian intervened, turning around to look intently at him.

“I know, I just… He doesn’t deserve that” Sam sighed, looking down at his friend and tenderly running his knuckles down his cheek. “I don’t know how I’m going to break it to him”

“Just being there for him. Though I don’t think I need to tell you that” Sebastian answered with a pointed look that made Sam feel as if he was implying something with that.

“And where were you going, anyway?” Sam asked, trying to change subjects so Sebastian would stop looking at them like that.

“As Trent said, there was nothing left in Westerville and, since my parents are in Paris right now, we were trying to get to Chicago, to see if we could find his family” Sebastian explained, moving to more general topics at Sam’s question.

“Though we wanted to go by Lima to see if… if we could find someone we knew there” Trent intervened, showing Sam how they were just as lost they were.

“We didn’t know everything was just as screwed up there” Sebastian added with a troubled sigh.

“Do you think… do you think this is the world now?” Sam asked. After all, he had only had the chance to talk to Blaine since he woke up, and he needed to know the vision others had from the situation they were living.

“I don’t know” Sebastian answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

“It’s definitely all we’ve seen until now” Trent added, not sounding too optimistic and getting them all to quiet down to get lost into their own thoughts.

“Sam?” a soft voice broke the silence after a while, getting Sam’s heart beating double-fast at the excitement of hearing his friend’s voice again –and curiously proud that Blaine would know it was him holding him in his arms without even having to open his eyes.

“Hey, B” Sam answered tenderly, smiling down at him as he squeezed him more strongly to his chest so Blaine could feel him, noticing Blaine was starting to shiver again, which he considered a good sign. “I’m here, buddy”

“Looks like he is starting to respond” Sebastian said, smiling gladly at the image.

“I don’t know, his skin still looks kind of bluish” Sam worriedly answered as he started rubbing Blaine’s arms and chest and turned his whole attention to him again. “Hey, B, can you hear me?”

“Where are we?” Blaine asked, still not finding the energy in him to open his eyes, though Sam was glad to see he seemed much more alert and coherent than before.

“We are in a car now, and not under it, how does that sound?” Sam dared to joke. After so many hours of absolute terror and despair, he felt they both needed a bit of light and absurd mood.

“Good” Blaine smiled, appreciating Sam’s humorous efforts.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m so cold”

“I know, buddy” Sam sympathetically answered, resting his head on top of Blaine’s in an attempt of comfort. “But at least we got some awesome blankets now! And how does your foot feel?”

“Numb” Blaine answered, still not able to say more than a couple of words in a row, though Sam could see he was much more aware of his surroundings than just a while back.

“We’ll have a look at it… as soon as we stop somewhere” Sam promised, as he realized he really had no idea what Sebastian and Trent’s plans were in the short run –and he didn’t care that much, just as long as he could keep Blaine safe.

“Sam, was Sebastian…?” Blaine tried to ask, because he felt like he had had the strangest dream in which his former friend from Dalton had come to their rescue.

“I’m here, Killer” Sebastian answered from the front seat, and chuckled when Blaine was so surprised he forced himself to open his eyes for a second so he could make sure for himself he was not dreaming.

“Sebastian?” he couldn’t stop himself from asking, even if he was seeing him with his own eyes, because he was afraid he was hallucinating because of the hypothermia.

“And Trent is here too” Sebastian answered with a fond smile as he pointed with his head at the driver, even if he could see Blaine had closed his eyes again, exhausted by the effort.

“Hi, Blaine” Trent said, sounding happier than he had done since they had met.

“Are we at Dalton?” Blaine asked, turning again to Sam as if he was the only one he could trust on, while his shivering intensified again.

“No, B, we’re… in a car, I told you” Sam patiently answered, purposefully avoiding the fact they were driving in the opposite direction from Westerville, not wanting him to know about the state of the village yet.

“I’m glad you’re alive, Sammy” Blaine said out of the blue as he moved on his own for the first time in a long while just to nestle more comfortably against Sam’s chest.

“I’m glad you’re alive too, B” Sam answered, trying to keep his voice from shaking with emotion in front of the other two boys as his arms closed more closely around his friend’s smaller frame and his lips made contact with Blaine’s forehead once again in a silent kiss.

**********

Sebastian winced as he heard the chattering of Blaine’s teeth at the backseat. He knew it was a good thing, that his body was responding after the shutdown it had experienced just an hour ago because of the hypothermia, but it still felt painful to hear him struggling like that. They had been friends once after all, and Sebastian still cared about him. He still felt sorry about everything that had happened between them and, above all, for hurting him. But maybe one good thing could still come out from the horrible situation they were living. Maybe the need to lean into each other to survive could bring them to be friends again. He would surely like that.

And speaking of friends… Looking at the two occupants of the backseat, still tangled together in a mass of limps and blankets as if they never intended to let go, Sebastian wondered about it. The last time he had spoken to Blaine, that one time when he had tried to lure him back to Dalton after his breakup with Kurt, Sam had only been a friend. Well, obviously more than a mere friend, considering it had been him the one to convince Blaine to stay at McKinley. They were getting to know each other; they were probably best friends already but… what he had seen since he and Trent found them… How Sam had clung to him like that, how he had cried over him, how he had been so willing to die with him instead of just running away… And what Sam had explained about Blaine staying alone for two weeks at his bedside to make sure he would survive… Even if you didn’t have all that information, you only needed to be with them for a couple of minutes to see something was going on in the way the hadn’t moved from each other’s arms for a second, or in the way Blaine asked for him every time he woke up, or how Sam would tenderly shush him and remind him he was there for him.

They had gone through a lot together, alright, and that tended to reinforce relationships in a way nothing else could. He himself would die before letting something happen to Trent, after everything they had shared in the last few days. But with Blaine and Sam… somehow it felt different. Just wait until Blaine was alright and they became friends again, Sebastian thought with a smile, the little guy would have a lot of explaining to do to his old friend.

“Guys, I don’t want to scare you or anything, but…” Trent started with a guilty tone, getting everyone else on alert immediately. “We’re running out of gas”

“What? You’ve got to be kidding me” Sam said, not able to stop himself even if he knew it sounded as if he was accusing Trent of something.

“I wish I was” the other boy lamented. “We had a full deposit, but you remember when those biters came out of nothing, I lost control of the car for a second and hit that rock at the side of the road, Seb? Maybe it did a hole in the gas tank and it’s been leaking ever since”

“It’s possible” Sebastian answered, nodding his head in agreement while trying to keep calm for the sake of the other three occupants of the car. “How much gas left?”

“Practically none” Trent answered with a frown, feeling guilty he had not noticed it before.

“It’s okay, Trent. You know, there is a gas station just a few more minutes down this road” Sam explained, as they were already back in the outskirts of Lima and he knew the place very well. “Maybe the gas pumps will still work”

“A lot of people escaped, Sam, I’m afraid they will have finished off any reservations of gas in the country” Sebastian explained while frustratingly shaking his head.

“We won’t know that for sure until we try” Sam contradicted him, trying to sound more optimistic than he really felt.

“No, no, no, no, not again” Blaine suddenly exclaimed in desperation, surprising all the other boys as they had thought he was asleep.

“Don’t worry, B” Sam tried to calm his friend down while holding him more strongly to his chest, worried about his mental state on top of everything else. “There are four of us now and no one is hurt. Nothing is going to happen to us. I promise”

Blaine just nodded and Sam had to smile at his stubborn friend, who had promised to trust him and that was what he was trying to do even if he didn’t think it would be that easy. It was just another reason to feel proud of him and his strength, Sam thought.

Everyone held their breaths as they drove down the road Sam had indicated, praying that they could reach the gas station. The car finally stopped only a few yards before they arrived, and they sighed in relief when they saw they had made it.

“I’m going to see if I can get us some gas” Sam immediately offered, but before he could move to get out of the car, Blaine grabbed the lapels of his coat with a strength that belied the real weakness of his body.

“No, Sam, don’t go” Blaine begged him, his eyes huge with fear, and it broke Sam’s heart to see him looking that vulnerable –though he completely understood.

“Blaine, I’ll be back in a minute, nothing is going to happen to me” Sam tried to reassure him with a smile, though it didn’t work.

“I’ll go with you” Blaine unsurprisingly offered, and Sam smiled again at his friend’s stubbornness.

“You can’t come with me” Sam tried to reason with him. “You’re still too weak, and we haven’t even checked your leg yet, we don’t know if you can walk”

“I’ll go with him, Killer” Sebastian offered, knowing it was the only way to keep Blaine in the car –man, he knew how obstinate he could be!

“See? Sebastian will look after me” Sam added with a hint of joking in his voice, hoping it would reassure Blaine if he saw he was not afraid of anything happening.

“Don’t go, please” Blaine begged him one more time, even if he knew he had already lost that battle.

“It will only take a minute” Sam insisted, resting his hands on top of Blaine’s to squeeze them for a second before disentangling them from his coat. “Just stay here with Trent and rest a little, and we’ll be back before you know it”

“But…” Blaine tried to insist, but Sam was already letting go of him.

“Trent, don’t let him out of this car under any circumstance” Sam gravely pleaded in a whisper to the driver before leaving the car, sorry about burdening him with such a task but knowing it may be needed.

“I’ll look after him, don’t worry” Trent promised him as he handed a gun to Sam and kept on for himself –in case any of them might need it to defend themselves.

Sam walked out of the car without looking back, knowing he may lose his determination if he got to see Blaine’s pleading eyes again. Both he and Sebastian clutched their weapons to their chests, hoping against hope they wouldn’t need to use them, as they kept watching out around them all the time. Sebastian was also carrying a powerful flashlight, but he didn’t want to use unless it was absolutely necessary for fear of attracting any possible lonely bitter around, so they only used the moonlight to reach the gas station.

Everything seemed as empty as the road had been, and there was not the slightest noise to be heard, so apparently there were no walkers around. More running than really walking, they reached the pumps and tried, one after another, to get some gas out of them, to no avail.

“Damn it” Sam whispered in frustration as the last pump was checked. “What are we going to do now?”

“I guess we’ll have to find another car” Sebastian, always the practical one, answered.

“Do you know how to hotwire a car?” Sam asked in a sarcastic tone, following Sebastian as he walked a little further down the street, where there was a car parked.

“You’re the one in public school, right?” Sebastian answered, and Sam was about to get offended before he noticed the smirk on the warbler’s face that told him he was only joking. “It can’t be that difficult”

Sam and Sebastian approached the car and checked to see if any of the doors were open –which were not.

“Great, we will have to force it open too” Sebastian protested.

But before Sam could answer, he felt something cold and sharp push the back of his head, and only when someone else talked, he knew it was a gun pointing dangerously at him.

“Move and you’re dead” the voice threatened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooops, another cliffhanger... Sorry!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha, isn't is funny how everyone wants for the voice to be Cooper? I wonder why! Also, I see everybody loves Sebastian, I didn't know there was so many Seb supporters out there!

Both Sam and Sebastian raised their hands in the air in an act of surrender, knowing there wasn’t much they could do against someone pointing a rifle at them to their backs. They looked at each other gravely, and mentally agreed to obey on anything that person said. They hadn’t survived all those walkers to die at the hands of a human, after all.

“Now you turn around really slowly” the voice, strong and determined, ordered them.

Sam turned around slowly, like he had been asked to do, and he only needed a second looking at the owner of the voice to recognize her.

“Kitty!” Sam exclaimed, not knowing who seemed the most surprised, him or the tiny McKinley cheerleader still pointing a rifle at him with astounded eyes.

“Sam?” she asked, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes –understandable, as the last time she had seen him he had been in a coma, lying on a hospital bed.

“Get this thing out of my face” Sam ordered her as he unceremoniously pushed the weapon away from him and Sebastian.

“Sorry, Sam” she immediately apologized as she lowered the weapon. “How was I to know it was you?”

“Maybe you could have tried asking me” he protested, obviously indignant, as he didn’t think it was too polite pointing guns at people’s heads.

“Sam?” another voice resounded behind him, and he hadn’t turned around the whole way before he was being enveloped in the bear hug of an old friend.

“Puck!” Sam answered in surprise, though he reciprocated the embrace once he got over it.

“I can’t believe it!” Puck happily said. “What are you doing here?”

“We were looking for some gas, but apparently there is none” Sam explained, pointing at Sebastian with his head as a sign that they had come together. “That is, until Kitty decided to point us with her gun and give us the fright of our lives”

“You were trying to steal our car, and I didn’t know it was you!” she defended herself, as she apparently hadn’t lost one whit of her famous strong character.

“What are you two doing here, anyway?” Sam asked, as he was still in shock about finding them in a place like that. Puck wasn’t even supposed to be in Lima, right?

“We… were looking for some food” Kitty explained, trying to sound softer so as to make herself forgiven. “We’re running out”

“We? As in…” Sam tried to ask, but Kitty was still not over Sam’s sudden apparition and didn’t let him finish: she needed some answers first.

“Excuse me, Sam, weren’t you…?”

“In a coma, yes” Sam answered before she finished, perfectly understanding her surprise –after all, Blaine had told him that the guys had been at the hospital before leaving them there on their own for good.

“How are you here?” she insisted.

“You mean alive?” Sam answered, his voice full of sarcasm and bitterness all of a sudden. “Thanks to Blaine, of course. You remember him right? That sweet and kindhearted boy you abandoned at the hospital?”

“Is he alright?” Puck asked, immediately worried at the short boy’s absence and the anger so evident in Sam’s stance.

“No, he’s not” Sam answered, looking accusingly at Kitty for a second before turning his attention to his old friend. After all, Puck was not to blame for what the current member of the Glee club had done, as he was not even there at the time. “But thankfully he is still alive, thanks to Sebastian here and his friend Trent. So tell me, can you offer us some shelter? Some food? A place where we can rest safely and where I can take care of his injuries?”

“Yes, yes, of course” Puck immediately reassured him as he rested a comforting hand on Sam’s shoulder –he knew he and Blaine had become good friends during the last year and he didn’t like seeing him so worried.

“All the members of the Glee club are at McKinley, actually” Kitty explained. “Well, everyone except…”

“Except us, yeah, I get it” Sam answered, sounding unusually rude.

“Where is Blaine?” Puck asked, trying to defuse a possible fight. “You can come with us in the car”

“He is waiting for us in that car over there, with Trent” Sam explained as he pointed in the direction they had come from. “Trent and Sebastian are coming with us too. After all, they found us and saved our lives. Right, Seb?”

“Yes, of course” Sebastian readily agreed, as he also knew how important it was to be around people –and wasn’t in any rush about losing sight of Blaine and Sam yet, either.

“No problem, the car is big enough. So let’s get Blaine in here, you said he was injured?” Puck asked.

“Yeah, so if maybe you could drive the car there so he doesn’t have to walk all the way down here…” Sam asked, feeling guilty about being so demanding, but he knew he had to do it for his friend.

“What happened to him?” Kitty asked, obviously worried, but Sam was not forgiving her yet.

“No offense, Kitty, but talking can wait” he answered as he and Sebastian turned to return to the car to get the other two. “I need to get Blaine somewhere safe”

In their impatience about the chance opening before them at feeling safe for a while surrounded by people, they practically ran the last yards separating them from their own car where they were hoping to find Blaine and Trent patiently waiting for them, as Puck and Kitty followed behind in their own car. However, the image they found when they knocked on the window and Trent unlocked the doors was not what they were expecting, as Blaine seemed to be struggling –more strongly than you’d expect from someone in his state– against Trent’s arms that were holding him in place as he tried to escape.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Sam immediately asked, astounded that Trent had even needed to move to the backseat to be able to hold Blaine down and keep him in the car –though he shouldn’t have been that surprised, he knew how stubborn Blaine could be once something got into his head. That’s why he had begged Trent to not let him go out of the car, after all.

“Thank God you’re here” Trent answered, the expression in his face full of relief as he finally let go of the smaller boy. “I don’t know if I could have kept him here for much longer”

“You were not coming back” Blaine defended himself in his still confused state with an embarrassed pout that only made Sam chuckle with fondness at his worrier of a friend.

“I told you we’d be back” Sam answered kindly, putting an arm around Blaine’s shoulder for a comforting half embrace.

“Did you get any gas?” Trent asked.

“Much better than that” Sebastian answered enigmatically. “We got us a new car and some company”

“Who?” Blaine asked in confusion, wondering if he was still hallucinating –because it was not possible that they would find alive people and, on top of that, they would willingly go with them, right?

“Let’s not waste any time with explanations” Sam said as he started putting Blaine’s arm around his shoulders, intending to transfer him to the other car as quickly as possible instead of just chatting with the door of the car open and exposing him to the cold weather more than what was strictly necessary. “Lean on me, I don’t want you putting any weight on that foot until I’ve checked it out, okay?”

“Okay” Blaine agreed more easily than expected, and Sam figured he was so relieved that they had come back to the car unscathed that he didn’t have the heart to contradict him.

As soon as he was out of the car, still shivering like crazy, Sebastian took his other arm and threw it around his shoulders too so he could help his friend, and Trent took the blankets that had slipped from him with all the movement and followed them to wrap them back around the short guy as soon as they accommodated him in the other car.

“Blaine!” Puck exclaimed as he got out of his own car and saw the state of his former classmate.

“Puck?” Alright, Blaine thought, he was now sure he was hallucinating if he was seeing McKinley’s alumni who didn’t even live in Lima anymore.

“And Kitty” the small girl said with a smile as he approached the trio too. “Are you alright, Blaine?”

“He’s hypothermic so we should leave the talking for later and get him into the car as soon as possible” Sam answered as cold as before as he practically carried Blaine’s whole weight through the grip he kept on his waist.

“Yeah, sure” Kitty awkwardly answered as she stepped aside and held the door open for them.

Once everyone was comfortably accommodated in the car –with Sam having Blaine lying on his chest for extra warmth again–, the questions didn’t took long to start. That time, though, Kitty preferred for Puck to do the talking as she didn’t want to be in the receiving end of Sam’s wrath again, even if she perfectly knew where that came from.

“How are you here, Puckerman?” Sam asked as he distractedly played with the curls on the top of Blaine’s head, lying on his own chest. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Los Angeles?”

“Well, I was coming for a visit, remember? With Mike and Santana, who are here too, we thought it would be nice to see all of you again”

“I guess you picked the worst of times”

“You bet we did” Puck answered with a grave nod. “We hardly made it into the school after everything started, and then we heard about your accident and how there was nothing we could do for you”

“Oh, they told you that?” Sam asked, his voice full of a sarcasm that made Kitty lower her head in shame.

“Yeah. I’m glad they were wrong” Puck continued, not noticing or deciding to ignore Sam’s anger. “So we have kind of created this little community with other McKinley students and Kitty and I were today in charge of looking for some food and other supplies. We’re running out of them”

“That’s good” Sam answered, more honestly this time. “Blaine said we needed to be around people. I guess it’s the wisest thing to do”

“And what about you, Blaine? Are you alright?” Puck asked with honest care.

“He’s asleep” Sam answered for him, looking fondly down at him as his hand never stopped caressing the curls on his head, as that simple gesture seemed to calm the shorter boy –and his own nerves–. “He’s had a hard time and he’s very weak”

“He won’t stop shivering”

“And he better doesn’t”

“What do you mean?” Puck asked in confusion.

“Well, he… stopped shivering for a while. He was… really close” Sam tried for his voice not to shake as he remembered those dreadful hours in which he had seen Blaine slowly fading away without being able to do anything about it.

“No wonder why you sounded so angry” Kitty intervened, trying to sound sympathetic to earn herself some forgiveness.

“I don’t think that’s the only reason he sounded angry and you know it” Sebastian couldn’t stop himself from adding. After all, Sam was not the only one who was angry at their so-called friends for abandoning them to their fate.

“Who asked you to butt in, Smythe?” Kitty replied as arrogantly as she could muster –though she knew Sebastian was not going to be impressed about it.

“I don’t need permission to speak” Sebastian retorted in his usual cocky tone.

“Calm down, Sebastian” Trent intervened, trying to avoid a fight because he knew about Sebastian’s strong personality, but his friend still had a lot to say.

“No, Trent, she needs to hear that” Sebastian answered before turning to the girl again. “Sam is angry because you and your friends left them to die in that hospital and you know it”

“It was not like that, and I don’t have to give you any explanations” she angrily retorted, but by the way she lowered her face everyone could tell she was feeling guilty about it.

“You’re quite a character, aren’t you?” Sebastian continued, because a bit of regret wasn’t going to stop him from telling some home truths. “Trent and I stopped our car because we heard some shots and we thought someone must be in trouble, and that’s how we found those two. You almost had us killed from behind instead”

“I didn’t know it was you” Kitty tried to defend herself once again.

“That doesn’t change the fact you pointed a gun on someone’s head” Sebastian insisted, as he hadn’t liked the feeling of being threatened. “Someone alive, not a biter”

“We’ve had to defend ourselves before against people, you know?” Kitty retorted, and by the bitterness with which she answered, it was obvious they hadn’t had it that easy either. “We’ve lost a few of our side, and not just to biters, as you call them”

“That doesn’t give you the right…” Sebastian continued, but this time he was stopped.

“Ok, that’s enough” Puck put a reasonable ending to their discussion. He knew they all needed to lean into each other to survive, and stupid fights like that weren’t going to help them. “We’ve all had it pretty rough up to this point and you don’t know about the other’s stories. Let’s not start judging and jumping on each other’s throat before we have the whole picture”

“That sounds wise” Trent answered gratefully.

“Too wise for you, in fact” Sam joked, wanting to create a lighter atmosphere as he was feeling bad that his anger had started the whole discussion.

“Well, thanks” Puck sarcastically answered, though he couldn’t keep a smirk from breaking in the corner of his mouth.

Sam looked worriedly behind the car and was terrified to discover the lights of the car were attracting quite a few walkers that were starting to walk behind them. He guessed there hadn’t been much movement on the streets since everybody escaped from the town or died, and the tiniest thing was enough to get their attention.

“Maybe you should try driving without the lights” Sam suggested, hoping his voice wouldn’t betray how scared he was. “We are attracting quite an interesting mob”

Everybody except for the driver turned to look at what Sam was signaling behind them, and they exchanged worried looks as they realized he was right.

“We can’t drive in the dark, we’ll have an accident” Puck reluctantly refused, as he knew they were a lot of abandoned objects and even corpses in the middle of the road that he wouldn’t be able to avoid in the dark.

“We’ll be safe as long as we stay inside the car” Trent added, trying to sound confident, but Sam only squeezed Blaine’s frame more strongly to him as if that would provide extra protection for him, remembering all too well how they had not remained safe in the car the last time.

An uncomfortable silence filled the automobile as they neared the school, while Puck tried to stay calm and drive as if nothing happened. They all might have fought walkers before, but that didn’t stop them from fearing them; quite the opposite.

“Alright, we’re just about to arrive” Puck announced after a few more awkward and tense minutes. “I’m going to accelerate so we leave them behind as much as possible, but someone is going to have to get out of the car and open the fence for us to go in”

“I’ll do it” Sebastian offered. After all, he was grateful they were finally getting shelter and company, and he didn’t want to be a burden.

“We’ll both do it” Trent offered too, offering a smile to his friend.

“Ok, so everybody get ready” Puck said after taking a deep sigh. “Let’s go”

Puck did as he had suggested and he pushed the gas pedal as hard as he could. The increase in their speed was noticeable, and it worked to leave behind those walkers following them. The problem, though, was that more and more walkers kept appearing as they passed by, and those were not going to be that easy to avoid.

“Hold on tight!” Puck warned them just before he braked sharply right in front of the door. “Now, go”

Sebastian and Trent didn’t need to be told twice and they jumped from the car to open the fence so the rest of them could enter. Puck didn’t lose any time and quickly accelerated again as soon as the fence was open. Sebastian and Trent ran behind the car, intent of getting inside the place and closing the fence again before the walkers could reach them. Trent closed one side of the door and just as Sebastian was closing the other one, a biter that had lost its legs dragged itself from a nearby bush and grabbed his ankle, making the former warbler fall to the floor.

“Sebastian!” he heard Trent yell behind him, but he was too busy trying to disentangle himself from the monster to answer.

When shaking his leg desperately wasn’t enough for the walker to let go of his ankle, Sebastian used his other leg to hit him in the head, but apparently the fear was not letting him be accurate enough and the walker was holding on in spite of the blows it was receiving.

Fortunately Trent was quick enough and let his machete fall on the walker’s arm with so much strength that he chopped his arm off before he could hurt Sebastian. Then he grabbed one of Sebastian’s arms and half dragged Sebastian backwards until they were both behind the fence and they closed it just as another three walkers were about to reach them.

Still panting from fear and effort, Sebastian got an arm out through a whole in the fence and stabbed one of the walkers on the head with a frustrated scream just before Trent grabbed him and made him walk backwards a few steps away from the fence in which more and more walkers were starting to gather.

“It’s alright, Seb” Trent comfortingly whispered to his friend, trying to calm him down. “It’s alright, they can’t get us anymore”

“Thank you” Sebastian answered after a few more seconds, when he was able to get himself together enough to speak.

“Don’t even mention it” Trent said as he threw an arm around his friend and pushed him towards where the car had stopped.

“Are you guys alright?” Sam worriedly asked as soon as he got out of the car.

“Yeah, yeah” Sebastian answered for the both of them, not needing to go into details about how close to not being alright they had been.

“Those fences aren’t going to hold that much if more walkers decide to join the party” Sam gravely said as Puck came out of the car and they both watched the now dozens of walkers gathering and pushing at the metallic fences surrounding the school.

“They have been holding on until now alright” Puck answered, trying to put his friend’s mind at ease.

“Yeah, but were there so many of them trying to bring them down before we attracted them here?” Sam pointedly replied, and this time Puck couldn’t refute his argument so he remained in silence. “They might be stupid, but they’re also relentless, nothing will stop them. We need to do something about it”

“We’ll think about it” Puck promised as he patted Sam’s back. “And now let’s focus on getting Blaine inside as soon as possible”

Predictably, that was enough to get Sam into action and forget for the time being about the fence. He opened the door of the car again only to find Blaine sleeping inside, though he didn’t seem to be as peaceful without Sam’s warm chest underneath him and the shivering of his body, that only seemed to get worse and worse as time passed.

“Hey, B” Sam whispered to his friend, even if he knew he couldn’t hear him. “I’m going to move you now, ok? We’ll be safe here”

Not feeling the need to wake him up –as he thought it would be better if he slept while he checked his leg once they got inside–, he took Blaine’s arm and once again put it around his own shoulders while he grabbed him around his waist to practically carry him out of the car.

“Can you help me, Puck?” Sam asked once Blaine was out of the car, and Puck immediately complied, holding Blaine from the other side and starting walking towards the front door of the place, with Kitty, Sebastian and Trent close behind them, while Blaine was putting one foot in front of the other by sheer willpower, as he was exhausted and more asleep than awake.

Kitty knocked on the door, waiting for some response, and was surprised to hear none, so she tried to open it and her astonishment only grew when she didn’t find any resistance.

They would have been scared that something had happened to all the people in the place if they couldn’t hear all the noise coming from different places, which told the new ones there that there was indeed quite a few people in there.

Sam couldn’t believe how careless they were, though. They were in the middle of the apocalypse and no one was even keeping guard next to the unlocked door. Plus there was a lot of noise and light in the place, something which Sam was sure was attracting even more of those walkers piling up just outside the fence. And they were supposed to feel safe there? If only Blaine could see it, he would crazy.

“Turn off the lights and keep the noise down!” Sam hissed at everyone in his sight, as everybody stopped at mid sentence as if they had seen a ghost. “There are dozens of walkers coming this way and there is nobody watching this door!”

“Blaine!” Tina exclaimed, recovering first from the shock and running to them as she saw her dear friend slumped between the other two.

“Get out of the way, he’s injured and we need to take care of him” Sam answered, rudely pushing her out of the way as he and Puck took Blaine towards where the nurse used to be. “You all did more than enough”

After the shock of finding their friends at their door –including Sam, who had been in a coma last time they had seen him– and Sam’s outburst, everyone remained rooted to the floor, not really knowing what to do –except for Marley and Ryder, that obeyed what Sam had said and started going through every classroom with lit candles to blow them off; and Mike Chang, who followed them.

“Let’s put him on the examining table” Sam suggested and he and Puck lifted him from the floor and carefully accommodated him there –with Sam even taking off Sebastian’s coat to use it a pillow for Blaine’s head.

“What happened to him?” Mike tentatively asked, not really knowing where Sam’s obvious anger was pointed at, but he was relieved it wasn’t at him as he quickly turned to him to explain.

“We had an accident with a car and he got trapped under it for hours. I don’t know about his leg yet, the one that got stuck under the car, but he’s hypothermic” he explained as he took the blankets from Blaine’s shoulders and rearranged them carefully so they would cover his whole body.

“Maybe we could start a fire to get him warm” Puck suggested.

“No” Mike immediately refused with a shake of his head. “My father is a doctor, remember? I know a bit of this stuff, and I remember him saying you can’t expose a hypothermic person to a source of heat like that or their cold blood will start circulating too quickly and damage their organs. He needs to be warmed up gradually, as painful and uncomfortable as that might sound”

“Alright” Sam answered, immediately trusting his friend as he tucked Blaine’s blankets more securely around his body, as it seemed they were all he was going to get for a while, and discreetly took Blaine’s hand in his and held onto it strongly under the blanket.

“We should get him out of those damp clothes, though” Mike continued.

“He must have a change of clothes in his locker. We always keep one in our lockers just in case. You know… slushies” Sam explained with a nostalgic smile, as if something that banal had just been one of his biggest worries years ago, instead of just weeks.

“I’ll get it, I think I remember which one was his locker” Puck immediately offered, knowing  Sam would prefer to stay with Blaine –if the grip he was keeping on his hand while trying to hide it was any indicator of that.

“I’ll go, you don’t know the combination to it” Sam said, as Blaine and he had exchanged their locker combinations’ with each other a long time ago, in case of emergency. Like that one.

“Please, do you really think I need a combination to open a high school locker? Now I’m offended” Puck joked as he understandingly patted Sam’s shoulder. “You stay with him, I’ll be right back”

“Shit, this is an angry-looking wound on his leg” Mike suddenly exclaimed as Puck left, and Sam turned around to see Mike had already lifted the blankets from Blaine’s limb and was taking a look at it.

“Is it serious?” Sam asked, all kind of terrifying thoughts going on in his head, the worst of them being Blaine losing his leg. It wouldn’t be that surprising, after the trauma it had experienced.

“I don’t think so. At least nothing seems to be broken and it’s not bleeding” Mike explained, and his voice sounded so calm and not afraid that it relaxed Sam immediately. “But it’s a nasty cut, and we need to make sure it doesn’t become infected”

“I’ll clean it right away” Sam answered as he started moving around the room, gathering everything he thought he could need.

“Sam…”

“Yeah?”

“What did those guys do? Why did you sound so angry at them?”

“You mean, aside from leaving Blaine out there alone to take care of me? Did they tell you as they did with Puck that there was nothing left to do for me?”

“I… didn’t know that. But Sam…” Mike tried to get him to talk, but Sam wasn’t ready for that conversation yet. He needed to take care of Blaine before he could start worrying about other things.

“I know what you’re going to say, and I’m sorry I sounded rude, but… I can’t face them right now” Sam replied, looking gravely at Mike, trying to make him understand. “Not after what they did to Blaine”

“I get it, Sam, you have the right to be angry and you need to take care of him first, but… remember we’re all in a very difficult situation. No one really knows what they’re supposed to do”

“Blaine knew”

“Ok, then not everyone is like Blaine. Just keep that in mind”

“Here’s a nice fresh clean outfit for you and your boyfriend… I mean, your friend” Puck said with a sardonic smile that confused Sam as he handed him some of Blaine’s clothes as well as his own. “My mistake, I don’t know what I was thinking about”

“Do you want some help, Sam?” Mike asked, deciding to ignore Puck’s inappropriate hints, as he sensed that Sam was a bit overwhelmed with everything that had happened that night and probably needed some peace to put his thoughts in order while working on getting his friend better.

“No, Mike, thank you” Sam unsurprisingly answered, grateful at his friend’s observant skills. “I can take it from here”

“Ok. So clean and bind the wound. I’m afraid you’re going to have to use alcohol, and there are not a lot of meds here. And try to keep him warm with the blankets. He’s going to feel cold for hours, so don’t worry if he won’t stop shivering for a while” Mike explained, trying to get his friend’s mind at ease, because he really looked like he could use it. “Then come on, Puck, let’s find something useful to do”

“Yeah, I’ll go explain everything to everyone. They must be killing your friends with question, and I’ve got the feeling that Sebastian guy is not the most patient person around either” Puck explained as he let himself be pushed to the door by Mike.

“Ok” Sam answered with a chuckle, knowing Puck was probably right.

“Call me if you need anything” Mike reminded him.

“I will. Thank you, guys”

Sam remained rooted to the floor for a second after the boys left, trying to gather his strength to start working. He felt exhausted, totally spent. Though he knew his fatigue was not physical by any means. Too many emotions in one night. Or in two days, if he counted everything they had lived since he woke up from his coma. And the thought of just how close he had come to losing Blaine, either at the hands of the walkers or the cold that had taken control of him so viciously… But no, he stopped himself. He couldn’t let himself fall into that. Blaine still needed him, and Sam was not going to relegate that task on anyone. Not after everything Blaine had done for him. And… because he wanted to be the one to do it.

Renewed at the thought that Blaine was still depending on him, he sat on a stool next to the examining table and only exposed Blaine’s leg, as Mike had done, so the rest of his body would stay covered by the blankets that seemed to be making their work so well. Without any kind of consideration he ripped Blaine’s pants leg open so he could take care of it –they were already pretty torn and bloody anyway– and braced himself before daring to look at the wound, afraid of what he might find. He was relieved that it wasn’t as horrible as he had imagined, though. Mike was right: it was an ugly wound, and he probably had a sprain too, but it would heal. And the fact there were no broken bones to take care of was a really good thing.

He knew it was wise to take advantage of the fact that Blaine seemed to be dead to the world to start working on disinfecting the wound, something which surely was going to be very painful if he had to use alcohol, so he didn’t lose any more time. His heart breaking at the pain his friend was going to experience, though knowing he had no other options in their situation, he took a bottle of alcohol and hesitated for just a second before pouring a generous amount over the wound.

The reaction was almost immediate, and Blaine let out a pitiful scream at the unexpected burning pain that brought a tear to Sam’s eyes before Blaine started thrashing on the table, apparently trying to escape an imaginary foe that was trying to hurt him.

“It’s okay, Blaine” Sam immediately tried to reassure him, hoping his voice would pass over all the pain and register on his friend’s mind.

“They’re hurting me!” Blaine yelled, still trapped in his own nightmare thanks to the searing pain in his leg. “Get them off me!”

“B, stop it, stop” Sam pleaded as he cupped his face and joined their foreheads together so Blaine could feel him and understand he was not in danger. “It’s me, buddy”

Sam’s calming voice and touch seemed to finally make Blaine more aware of his surroundings, and when he opened his eyes he was confused and surprised to see he was not being devoured by walkers and that only Sam was there.

“It hurts” Blaine lamented in a pitiful voice that felt like a dagger to Sam’s heart, though at least he was relieved that Blaine seemed to recognize him.

“It was me, I was disinfecting your wound. I’m so sorry” Sam apologized, breaking Blaine’s heart at all the regret and the pain he could hear in his voice.

“It’s okay” Blaine immediately reassured him as he took advantage of Sam’s proximity to tenderly caress his cheek with his knuckles in a comforting gesture before he pulled away. “I just got scared for a second”

“We’ve got nothing to be scared about now” Sam added, turning to his stool again as he took a cloth and started cleaning of the dirt around the wound until Blaine winced. “Am I hurting you?”

“It’s okay” Blaine repeated, willing himself to remain completely still and not give any other indicator that he was hurting so Sam wouldn’t have to feel guilty again.

“Do you remember what happened?” Sam asked while he worked as carefully as he could. After all, Blaine had been very confused and even unconscious for a while, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he wasn’t aware of much of what had happened that night.

“Most of it” Blaine assured him, relieved that the blinding pain seemed to be lessening into a dull ache he could stand.

“So you remember Trent and Sebastian got us out of there”

“I think so”

“And then Puck and Kitty found us. If it hadn’t been for all of them…” Sam continued, stopping himself again before getting lost in what could have happened.

“Where are we?” Blaine asked as he looked around them, more and more aware of his surroundings with the passing minutes. “This looks like…”

“McKinley, yeah. Can you believe it? Even in the middle of the apocalypse we still aren’t playing hooky” Sam joked, his heart bursting with joy when he elicited a chuckle from his friend. “Serves me right, for becoming best friends with a nerd like you”

“Hey!” Blaine playfully protested, now he being the one to make Sam laugh. “How is my leg?”

“It has a nasty cut and it’s quite bruised, so I guess it’s going to feel pretty painful now it’s not numb anymore, but nothing is broken”

“Good” Blaine answered with a relieved smile that warmed Sam’s heart.

“I can’t believe you didn’t break your leg” Sam said as he finished cleaning the area with a relieved sigh.

“I guess I’m a lucky guy” Blaine said, and there was so much emotion in his voice and in his eyes that Sam had to gulp a couple of times when he realized he was talking about him.

“I’m going to wrap it up so the wound doesn’t become infected, ok?” Sam explained with a warm smile that was immediately reciprocated.

“Ok”

The pain was getting easier to bear with each passing minute, and after Sam gently bandaged his leg he almost couldn’t feel it anymore. Then Sam helped him change his clothes with all the care in the world –Blaine was still shaking so badly he barely could hold anything in his hands– and Blaine tried not to blush too badly at the idea of Sam undressing him, even if he knew he was just doing as a part of taking care of him.

“I’m sorry I ruined your pants” Sam said once Blaine was securely tucked under the blankets again and he was finishing changing his own clothes. “I had to cut them off”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sam” Blaine answered with a chuckle at his adorably dorky friend that made Sam’s heart beat at double speed without him understanding why.

“Are you feeling any better?”

“Yes, but I’m still so cold”

“I know, dude” Sam answered sympathetically as he resumed his place on the stool at Blaine’s side and rested a comforting hand on his thigh. “And you’re going to feel like that for a few more hours, I guess. At least Mike said so”

“Mike? As in Mike Chang? Mike is here too?” Blaine asked, astounded.

“And so is Puck and Santana all the Glee Club, can you believe it?” Sam answered, glad that at least they were surrounded by people now, as Blaine had wanted.

“I’m glad they’re alright” Blaine sincerely said, as it was so good to know they hadn’t lost everyone they loved.

“Yeah” Sam answered, more sarcastically, though Blaine didn’t seem to notice.

“Thank you, Sam” Blaine said, suddenly serious, as he got his hand out of the blanket imprisonment to grab Sam’s and hold it into his.

“No, Blaine, I didn’t…” Sam tried to diminish the appraisal, but of course he should have known Blaine was much more stubborn than that.

“You didn’t give up on me and you saved my life” he insisted, looking intently at him until Sam felt as if he was seeing him through his very soul.

“You saved mine first” Sam stupidly answer, not really knowing what to say at Blaine’s intensity.

“Guess we’re even now” Blaine answered with a chuckle.

“You can’t compare what you did with what I did” Sam insisted.

“Don’t be stupid, Sam. I’m alive because of you, how is that different?”

“Let’s just keep looking after each other like this, ok?” Sam suggested, squeezing Blaine’s hand more strongly into his as his other hand moved involuntarily to Blaine’s curls. But it was not his fault, he had not seen Blaine’s curls ungelled before and they were so funny an adorable that he couldn’t stop touching them. “We make a pretty good team”

“We surely do” Blaine answered, subconsciously turning his head towards Sam’s touch.

“Maybe we should get some rest now” Sam suggested as he noticed Blaine doing a great effort to stay awake. “We are safe for now and we both know we’ve earned it”

“Do you want…?” Blaine started to ask, but stopped himself before he could finish.

“Do I want what?” Sam asked, raising his eyebrows in amusement as he noticed the light blush on Blaine’s cheeks.

“…to lie down here with me” Blaine finished, his face redder than a tomato until Sam couldn’t help but laugh.

“So when did we start getting embarrassed around each other?” he asked while fondly shaking his head at his adorable friend –and yeah, okay, maybe he was finding him adorable to often lately, but who cared–. “I’d love to, I’d really do, but I’m afraid there is not enough space for the two of us on the examining table”

“Maybe we could lie down on the floor…” Blaine suggested, encouraged by how Sam had said he’d love to lie down with him without the slightest hint of embarrassment or hesitation.

“No, no way, I’m not risking you lying on the floor again and letting the cold sip through your bones again” Sam immediately denied. No matter how much he really needed to cuddle with Blaine that night –although he was not going to say that and he’d continue pretending he was just doing it for him–, he was not going to put his already fragile health at risk. “Plus I don’t think you’d be that comfortable with that injured leg”

“Oh” Blaine exclaimed without being able to stop a pout from appearing in his lips, though he tried to hide it so as not to make Sam feel guilty or show him how much he really wanted to sleep next to him. “Ok, you’re right”

Sam’s heart broke at Blaine’s obvious disappointment. How he could deny him anything when he was injured and sick like that? He was the worst best friend ever! Plus Blaine was right, and sleeping together seemed like the best idea –for medical reasons only, of course, as that way they could share their body heat–. There had to be something he could do.

“I’ve got an idea!” he suddenly announced, his face breaking into a proud grin. “I’ll be right back, don’t fall asleep yet”

Blaine wondered what could be going through Sam’s head to make him leave the room in such a hurry, but he couldn’t help a smile as he thought about how big his heart was and how important it was for Sam to make him happy. And not just because he was injured, or because the blond was grateful to him for staying with him at the hospital: it had always been like that. Blaine had never had a friend like him before, someone who cared so much about his feelings and desires and that would do anything in his power to make them come true. And if Sam could be like that just for his friend, what he wouldn’t do for… No, stop. He couldn’t let himself be dragged into that kind of thinking again. Especially not in a time like that. It just couldn’t be, and Blaine knew that well enough.

Before he could fall into despair for the things he would never get, Sam came back with the biggest grin on his face as he happily dragged an enormous mat into the room.

“There you are” Sam proudly said, still panting from the effort. “I went to the gym and I grabbed the thickest mat I could find. I’m sure we can be pretty comfortable on it, right?”

“Sam, you are amazing” Blaine answered, unable to keep his utter adoration for his friend out of his voice.

“Oh, it’s just you looking at me with kind eyes” Sam answered with a blush at the appraisal. “And now come on, let’s get you comfortable on this thing”

Just as he had been doing all night, Sam helped Blaine, putting the curly-haired’s arm around his shoulders and making sure to hold most of his weight as they took the few steps separating them from the mat, so he wouldn’t put any weight on his injured leg. Then he helped him lie down and totally wrapped him on the blankets before climbing underneath them himself as he lied down at Blaine’s side and brought his friend to him to nestle on his chest. He knew it was not the most usual position to sleep with a friend, but Blaine had been sleeping on Sam’s chest for hours now in the cars, so it didn’t feel awkward at all. And if it was what it took for Blaine to feel comfortable and warm…

“Are you comfortable?” Sam asked, even if the happy sigh that escaped Blaine’s mouth once they were accommodated was answer enough. “Is that what you had in mind?”

“It’s perfect” Blaine answered, trying not to pour when Sam started lazily running his fingers through the back of his head and neck in a comforting and relaxing gesture.

“Well, you deserve it, after everything you went through today”

“You mean _we_ went through”

“Well, yeah” Sam admitted. “But I’m comfortable too like this, don’t worry”

Silence fell upon them as they relished in the feeling on being in the arms of someone they knew cared about them deeply, after the fear and the grief they had experienced just a few hours before. If someone came to check on them, they wouldn’t probably understand them, the need to feel connected, the pleasure of feeling that close to someone in a world that had been destroyed. But they didn’t care: that was just for them, and nobody got a say in it.

“Sam, what are we doing back in Lima?” Blaine asked after a few minutes of peace, and by the way Sam’s hand stilled on his hair he knew he was not going to like the answer.

“Well, as you know Trent and Sebastian found us in their way here, so…” Sam answered, trying to avoid the question for just a few hours. Blaine so deserved to be in peace for a while…

“I know, but… are we still going to Westerville? When my leg is okay?” Blaine insisted, and Sam’s heart broke at the almost imperceptible fear in his voice.

“Blaine, I… I don’t know how to tell you this, but…” Sam started, taking his time to try and find the right words to say.

“Sam, just say it” Blaine interrupted him. “I’m not an idiot, I know Trent and Sebastian left Westerville for a reason”

Sam looked down at Blaine’s determined expression and he was reminded of how Blaine was not made of glass, how he was not a fragile figure that was going to break at the lightest touch by any means. Blaine was strong and courageous and a survivor, and whatever Sam told him, he would take it and learnt to live with it as much as it hurt. There was no point in hiding the truth any longer, Sam knew. The only thing he could do was be there for him. Like Sebastian had told him to do.

“Well, apparently the whole village was… burnt down. There is nothing left there”

“Ok” was the only thing Blaine was able to say as he lowered his gaze down so Sam wouldn’t see the tears. “Thank you for telling me, Sam”

“But that doesn’t mean they’re dead, Blaine” Sam hurried to explain, guessing about the tears even if he hadn’t seen them, putting both his arms around the shorter boy so he could hold him strongly to his chest. “The guys said a lot of people escaped before the fire. Your parents might have been amongst those who escaped”

“Then where are they?” Blaine’s voice sounded so soft and desperate for some answers that it reminded Sam of a little kid who had gotten lost. And he couldn’t stand it, though he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

“I… I don’t know” Sam was forced to admit because, even if they really didn’t know what had happened, he knew the chances that Blaine’s parents were alive were pretty slim. “But I’m here, okay? You’re not alone”

It didn’t take Blaine long to start crying in desperation, hiding his face in the crook of Sam’s neck while heartbreaking sobs shook his whole body. It broke Sam’s heart to see his friend like that, but he didn’t try to stop him: he knew Blaine needed to let it all out, as he had been holding it inside for too long. And if holding him with all his forces and whispering comforting words on his ear could help in any way, that’s what Sam would do until the end of time, even if he had to dry his own tears at his best friend’s suffering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No cliffhanger this time, take a deep breath... until the next one ;)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, not so much action in this one either, because there were some things to handle before that but... wait until the next one! And please, enjoy this one too!

Sam’s eyelids felt like they weighted a tone the next time he woke up. He didn’t remember falling asleep, but it obviously had happened at some point, considering how high he could see the sun through the window. He probably had been more exhausted than he had thought, because last thing he remembered has holding Blaine against his chest as his friend bitterly cried for the more than probable loss of his parents.

When Sam finally dared to open his eyes and look at his friend, still in his arms –and yes, they must have been really exhausted if they hadn’t even moved from their position all night– and deeply asleep, he couldn’t help but notice the still perceptible paths the tears had traced on the dirty skin of his face, and Sam’s heart went to him all over again. How could he go on after something like that? Sam himself had no reason to believe his own parents wouldn’t be alright, and he was dying with worry. He couldn’t imagine the grieve Blaine was experiencing. If only there was a way to know how his brother Cooper was… But he was supposed to be in Los Angeles, so it was probably for the best that he was nowhere near the hell they were living.

A sudden thought rushed to Sam’s mind as he looked at his friend: he was not shivering anymore. Unable to breathe with fear, his heart racing like crazy, Sam feared the worst as he brought two fingers under Blaine’s jaw to try and find a pulse, like he had done the night before. Was it possible that while they slept…? But no, there it was, Sam realized. He could have cried with relief as he found the strong and rhythmic beat of Blaine’s heart, nothing compared to the faint and terrifyingly slow pulse from the night before. He simply wasn’t shivering because he was not hypothermic anymore. Come on, Sam could even feel Blaine’s breathing tickling him in the sensitive skin of his neck, how had he not realized before? He was turning into a mother hen, he thought with a still shaky chuckle.

Now that he knew Blaine was safe and sound, Sam noticed how nice it was to feel him so close, to feel part of his weight and his warmth on his chest, the tickling of his breathing on his neck. He knew they had only cuddled like that for medical reasons –the need to share their body warmth– and comforting reasons –they had practically died the night before–, and it was bound not to happen again, but… for a second Sam wished he could find a reason every night to have Blaine like that: so relaxed and comfortable that even the lines of worry in his face were completely gone. And knowing it was thanks to him. And… Sam couldn’t deny he also liked the proximity.

Feeling suddenly awkward in their embrace and not wanting to give it too much thought, he carefully extricated himself from Blaine’s arms –there was no need to wake him up yet, if he could get some more much-needed rest – and stood up to leave the room. He had to stop himself a moment, though, to look at his friend, as if he needed to verify once again that he was indeed still alive. So when Blaine moved to curl around himself in an adorable way and almost disappeared under the blankets, Sam smiled fondly at him, took the blankets out of his face so he wouldn’t suffocate and even ruffled Blaine’s curls for a second in a sudden rush of affection.

As he left the room, he wondered where everybody could be. It was not that he was dying to see them, but he imagined he needed to make an effort to be around them if they wanted to make it.

He had entered the school in such a hurry the night before to have Blaine looked after that he hadn’t paid attention to the details, such as how many people were living there now or where they were staying. So he peeked through the windows in each classroom, finding some people in some of them, on his way, though he couldn’t find any of the other glee members.

“Hey, Evans!” Someone said a little too loudly as a hand slapped his back with force. “Did you have a good sleep?”

“Morning, Puck” Sam answered, even managing a small smile. After all, Puck was not to blame for what the others had done, and it was not his fault if Sam was not in the mood for socializing. “Yeah, in fact I did”

“How’s Blaine?” Puck asked, more seriously, and Sam’s heart warmed up at the way Puck worried about his friend.

“He’s still asleep. He looked so much better, though” Sam explained, his smile more genuine this time.

“That’s great news” Puck answered as he threw an arm around Sam’s shoulders and started guiding him. “You must be hungry, right? Care for some breakfast?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t mind” Sam joked, blushing slightly as his stomach took that precise moment to rumble in protest for being neglected for so long.

“We basically hang around here” Puck explained as they reached what had been the choir room, who was filled with people and activity. “We sleep in different classrooms, but in the day we spend most of our time here”

“Morning, Sam” Ryder immediately said with an awkward smile.

“Morning” Sam reluctantly answered as he sat to the table on a vacant chair.

“Have some breakfast” Tina offered, nearing a plate with some sandwiches to him.

“Thank you” he answered, though his gaze remained stubbornly down as he ate, as he refused to look at any of them in the eye.

“How’s Blaine?” Mike asked, and this time Sam lifted his face to look at the person speaking, as he was not one of the people he didn’t want to talk to –and he had helped taking care of Blaine the night before.

“Much better” Sam answered with a grateful nod.

“So what happened to him?” Marley asked him. “Puck told us about it, but…”

“Then you already know” Sam rudely cut her off. Why the hell couldn’t they just stop trying to engage him in a conversation and leave them alone? “Maybe you could explain how you all managed to end up here. You’ve been hiding here the whole time?”

“Well…” Joe, always the peacemaker, tried to find the right words under Sam’s scrutiny. “It all started pretty fast, you know? The city started being evacuated by force and then… There was no one left to evacuate the rest of us anymore”

“We couldn’t find our families, so we decided to stay here all together” Jake finished for him.

“It’s so nice that at least you could all have someone to lean on, right?” Sam sarcastically added, and he noticed some of the guys around the table shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

“What is wrong with you, Sam?” Artie practically yelled out of the blue. “Why are you so angry at us?”

“Are you really asking me that, Artie?” Sam asked in disbelief. “You really think I don’t have the right to be angry? I wouldn’t stay here with you if I had the chance. If there was another way to survive, I’d take Blaine and get out of here without even looking back”

“Why?” Artie patiently asked. He had a good idea about what was going on in Sam’s head, but he thought maybe it would be easier to bury the hatchet in the long run if he let it all out.

“Because he almost died last night” Sam answered with such intensity in his voice that everyone was left speechless. “He was this close to dying. And he wouldn’t have been out there if it hadn’t been for you”

“But how are we to blame for that?” Brittany asked, and she seemed so sad about Sam’s anger that he was close to let it go. But no, they needed to know. And he was going to tell them.

“You left Blaine alone” Sam answered, as if that explained everything else. “In that hospital, when everybody escaped, you just left him there. I can understand you leaving me, I was a burden in my condition, especially if no one knew if I was ever going to wake up again, but Blaine…”

“We tried to take him with us but he wouldn’t come” Brittany tried to defend herself. “He wanted to stay with you”

“And you left him there, on his own, and forgot about it” Sam continued, shaking his head in a judgmental gesture. “Just like that”

“And what were we supposed to do, Sam?” Artie interrupted when he noticed the tears in Brittany’s eyes.

“Get him out of there! Convince him I was a lost cause!” Sam yelled at him. Seriously, was it so hard to understand?

“You have no idea how he fought for you, Sam!” Artie replied in an equally loud voice. “He would have never left you there!”

“Then you should have forced him! Or stayed there with him! He would have stayed for any of you!”

“You didn’t see him, Sam. He was out of his mind when we tried to get him away from you. Even if we had taken him by force, he would have found the way to come back to you”

“You didn’t even try” Sam answered, more softly this time, though that didn’t make his words hurt any less to the repentant youngsters.

“And what would you have done? We didn’t know what the hell was happening! Our lives were at stake too, and everything was so confusing!” Artie tried to reason with him.

“Not that much if you all had stayed together. You only cared about your own asses”

“No, Sam” a voice behind him interrupted him, and he immediately turned around to see Blaine standing at the door of the room. “You shouldn’t blame them”

“Blaine, you shouldn’t be walking on that leg” Sam said as he went to him and put his arms around him to help him towards the chair next to him to sit.

“I was… alone” Blaine answered, making Sam realize he had probably been afraid when he woke up and had no idea where Sam was –or how he was, as he knew that Blaine couldn’t stop worrying about him those days.

“I’m sorry I left you alone, I thought you were asleep and… I needed to talk to them” he answered, totally ignoring the others as he focused his attention on his friend. “How are you feeling?”

“It’s not their fault” Blaine said, ignoring Sam’s question.

“Isn’t it?” Sam asked with a humorless chuckle as he purred some milk in a clean glass for Blaine to drink. “You could have died in that hospital room and no one would have ever known about it”

“It was my decision to stay. Artie is right, I didn’t let them get me out of there” Blaine explained, sending a knowing look at Artie that made the other boy lower his head in shame at the fact that Blaine was able to forgive them so easily even if Sam was probably right and they didn’t deserve it. “I threatened them with my knife if somebody tried to force me to go with them”

Sam looked astounded at his friend. Every new piece of information about what had happened while he was in a coma just made him admire him all the more. He knew how Blaine felt about violence, and how much he appreciated his friends, and yet it turns out that he had willingly threatened them just so they wouldn’t try to take him away from him.

“Even then, they should have tried harder” Sam finally said when he found his voice, as he was not yet ready to forgive them. “They should have known you would have never hurt them”

“Sam, I… I don’t know if that’s true. Maybe I would have, I don’t know” Blaine answered, this time he being the one to lower his face in shame. “You and I both know nothing could have made me leave you there on your own, under any circumstances”

“But…” Sam wanted to insist, but Blaine rested his hand on Sam’s to stop him.

“No. Don’t blame them. It’s them who should be angry at me, and not the other way around”

“Well…” Artie intervened, knowing it was the opportune moment to put an end to that episode and put it behind them, which he was sure was what everybody wanted. “Sam is partly right. We should have tried harder to get you out of there. We should have known you would never hurt us”

“Artie, I…” Blaine tried to explain himself, but what could he say to justify what he had done?

“Blaine, you would have never hurt us, in any circumstances, you were just too… afraid, as we all were” Artie continued, trying to erase all the guilt and shame he could see in his friend. After all, they all had been in the wrong, right? “And we turned our backs on you at the first sign of trouble, that is true. And for that we’re really sorry”

“I’m sorry too” Blaine offered with the smallest smile.

“We all did things we regret” Tina intervened, walking behind Blaine’s chair to put her arms around his neck. “Why don’t we try and put them behind us and start from scratch again? I’ve missed my boo”

“I’ve missed you too, guys” Blaine answered, even chuckling when Tina kissed his cheek.

“Sam?” Artie asked, fearing Sam would not be as forgiving as Blaine had been.

“You had to go and be all you, right?” Sam turned to Blaine in reproach, but the brunet smiled again when he realized he was only joking. “You had to forgive them and leave me to be the bad guy”

“I’m sorry” Blaine apologized with a chuckle, leaning the side of his face on Sam’s biceps, looking up at him with huge puppy eyes that he knew Sam was never able to resist.

“Well, I refuse to be the bad guy, so I’ll forgive them too” he conceded while rolling his eyes, and as he saw the smiles breaking all around the room he knew he was doing the right thing.

“We’re glad you’re here, boys” Marley said with one of her sweet smiles, looking at the unstoppable duo she had always admired so much.

“This was not the same without you” Ryder added.

“I pretty much doubt nothing is ever going to be the same even with us here, but ok” Sam admitted with a sad smile, before turning to his best friend again. “And you, have some breakfast, young man. You need to get your strength back”

“Yes, sir” Blaine answered with a mocking grin as he moved to avoid Sam’s punch coming to his arm while everybody laughed at their silliness. It was probably not going to be easy, but at least they had taken the first step.

**********

After breakfast, Sam offered to help with anything that was needed and, since he had always been very skillful with his hands, they easily found him some tasks, as furniture repairing and things like that. Blaine, obviously, was freed from any duties because of his injured leg, so he decided to take a walk around the school –without Sam knowing, of course, or he would never let him–, trying to find things that could be useful or failures in the security of the place that needed be looked after. He loved his friends, he really did, but they didn’t seem to be doing that good of a job protecting themselves; they probably just had been lucky until then. And luck never lasted forever.

When his leg started hurting because of all the movement, he stopped a second to rest next to a window on the first floor. From there he could see the main entrance, and he was terrified to see it was infested with dozens of walkers, only kept outside because of the fence. He didn’t like that one bit: it would be very difficult for anyone to go out if they needed to. Or it could turn into a real tragedy if they somehow managed to enter.

He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn’t even hear someone approaching him from behind, and he jumped out of his skin when said someone gently patted his back.

“Hey, Killer”

“Sebastian” Blaine said, with a relieved sigh. “You scared me”

“I’m sorry” Sebastian replied with an apologetic smile. “I should be more careful, we are all very jumpy nowadays, right?”

“I guess” Blaine agreed with a nod. “But you shouldn’t apologize. Apparently I have you to thank for being alive”

“Oh, no, please, anyone would…” Sebastian tried to dismiss the appraisal, obviously embarrassed by the slight blush covering his cheeks, but Blaine was having none of it.

“Thank you, Sebastian” Blaine sincerely said, not letting the other finish.

“You’re welcome” Sebastian finally relented with a smile, while he decided to use some light joking as a defense mechanism . “See, I told you I could be a good person”

“I never thought you couldn’t, Seb, you were the only one who ever doubted it” Blaine answered without a trace of joking in his voice.

“You were always the one to see some good in me in those dark times” Sebastian honestly answered, seeing as he was not going to be able to defuse the situation with his stubborn friend.

“Maybe I was the only one you were showing it to” Blaine answered with a kind smile. “I never found it that difficult to be your friend, you know”

“I was wondering…” Sebastian asked, turning shy all of a sudden. “If maybe we could be friends again”

“We’ve never stopped being friends, Seb” Blaine answered so matter-of-factly that Sebastian knew he really meant it.

“Even that time I sent you to the hospital?” Sebastian asked because, even if it was something he was deeply ashamed of, he wanted to get it out of the way.

“Did you? I don’t remember” Blaine answered with a smile.

“Don’t be like that, I was horrible and…” Sebastian insisted, but once again Blaine wouldn’t let them.

“And you saved my life last night” Blaine finished for him. “That makes up for everything, don’t you think?”

“Thank you, Killer” Sebastian said, squeezing Blaine’s shoulder gratefully.

“You’re more than welcome” Blaine answered, his smile widening.

“What are you doing here?” A reproachful Sam appeared behind them out of the blue. “I thought I told you to stay off from that leg. And shame on you, Sebastian, for letting him”

“Did I just get scolded because of you?” Sebastian asked Blaine, mockingly offended.

“Looks like so” Blaine answered with a chuckle before turning to his worrier of a best friend. “I was just looking at that”

“At what?” Sam asked, looking through the window at what Blaine seemed to be pointing.

“Look at all those walkers out there” Blaine gravely answered as he pointed again towards the fence. “There seems to be dozens of them”

“I know” Sam answered with a sad nod of his head. “They’ve been gathering there since we arrived last night”

“I’m worried about that fence” Blaine continued, as he had noticed how all the walkers were pushing into it with their impatience. “How long do you think it can hold?”

“I noticed that too when we arrived, but Puck said they hadn’t had any problems with it”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t have them now”

“You think we’re not safe here?” Sebastian asked, looking worriedly at his friend.

“I don’t know” Blaine answered honestly. “It’s not like I want to criticize these guys or anything but… maybe they haven’t had to fight like we have. Maybe they’re not really aware of how dangerous our situation really is”

“Do you think we should talk to them?” Sam answered, placing all his trust in his friend once again. After all, he had seen how much Blaine knew about walkers and how much he had learnt about keeping themselves safe from them.

“Probably” Blaine answered with a sigh. “I don’t want to offend them but… I think we should take far more precautions than what they have been taking. They don’t seem to worry much about anything, as if just staying here was enough to survive”

“Yeah, I thought that too when we arrived”

“Will you guys back me up if I suggest some changes?”

“Of course we will” Sam answered immediately, almost offended at the question. “You’ve done a great job keeping us alive until now, I trust your judgment 100%”

“Thanks, Sam” Blaine said with a grateful smile as he rested his hand on Sam’s forearm. “Seb?”

“I trust you too, Killer” Sebastian answered with a nod that elicited a wide smile on Blaine at feeling so supported.

“Alright, then I think I’ll tell them over dinner”

“Ok, so what about a nap now?” Sam suggested, even if it sounded more like an order. “You still need to get your strength back, and I’m sure your leg could do with some rest”

“But…” Blaine tried to protest.

“No buts, you’re going to have a nap and that’s final” Sam answered, not even letting him finish.

“Seb, save me!” Blaine mockingly yelled as Sam took his arm and threw it around his own shoulders so he wouldn’t put any weight on his injured leg.

“Oh no, I already got scolded once for you today, don’t get me involved in this again” Sebastian answered, smiling fondly at the pair and how they constantly looked after each other. Yeah, he and Blaine still had some talking to do, he thought with a mischievous grin.

**********

After their nap and a bit of just lazing around, Sam helped Blaine back to the choir room, where some of the students were finishing setting the table. There were all of the glee club members there this time, plus Mike, Puck and Santana and some other students they only knew by sight. Apparently Puck and Santana were engaged in some kind of argument and nobody noticed about them for a while.

“So you’re telling me that you and Kitty didn’t bring anything last night?” Santana reproached the boy, who sighed as if he was just trying to keep himself calm.

“No, we found them before we had the chance to find anything” Puck patiently replied, and Sam and Blaine exchanged a worried glance when they realized they were talking about them.

“And why did you have to come back if you hadn’t found anything?” Santana went on.

“Blaine needed urgent caring. What were we supposed to do, just leave him there to die?” Puck asked with a loud angry smack at the table that made Blaine flinch. “He’s had enough of that lately, you know”

“Please, don’t start with that you too” Santana reproached him with an angry glare as Sam squeezed Blaine’s shoulder comfortingly and pretended to clear his throat so everyone would notice they were there and stop arguing.

“Have a seat, boys” Unique offered with a forced smile while serving food to her friends along with Sugar, Joe and Ryder, as apparently they were in charge of the food –at least that night.

“Thank you” Blaine answered with a polite smile before Sam helped him to his chair and sat next to him. “I’m sorry if I caused you any inconvenience last night”

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, don’t worry” Puck immediately reassured him, sending Santana a look that seemed to dare her to contradict him.

“No, of course not” Santana finally relented, even if she didn’t sound all that honest.

“So those spaghettis are really awesome!” Sam exclaimed after a few seconds, trying to lower the obvious level of tension in the atmosphere. “Did you cook them, Unique?”

“Oh, I got some help” she answered, even if her modesty was pretty false. “We take turns for the tasks, but I like taking charge of the kitchen department”

“So what other tasks you guys do?” Sebastian asked before sending a pointed look at Blaine to let him know he was helping him bring up the safety issue, to which Blaine reciprocated with a grateful smile.

“Not much. Just cleaning, cooking… those kinds of things” Jake answered, completely unaware of the turn the conversation was taking.

“Is anyone in charge of the safety of the place?” Blaine asked, trying to sound casual so no one would feel attacked.

“What do you mean?” Mike asked, and Blaine could see he was really interested –he would probably be a good ally in that.

“I mean… what do you do to make sure you’re safe?”

“Well, we make sure to stay inside and… keep the fence closed” Brittany answered, eliciting some nods around the table.

“Why? You think we are not being careful enough?” Mike insisted, and Blaine was glad to see he was asking out of interest, and not because he felt he was reproaching them of anything.

“Well…” Blaine tried to find the right words to explain, but Sam nodded encouragingly at him before trying to help.

“Weren’t we talking precisely about that fence, B?” Sam said, giving Blaine the perfect opportunity to start exposing his worries.

“Yeah, about that. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there are lot of walkers just standing outside” Blaine mentioned.

“As long as they remain outside it shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Tina asked, starting to get worried about what Blaine seemed to be implying: that they were not safe.

“But is the fence going to hold them for long? There are dozens of them pushing onto it, how do we know they’re not going to bring it down?” Blaine tried to reason with them.

“It’s stood until now, hasn’t it?” Santana retorted, and by her tone Blaine could see she was not going to be as receptive as some of her classmates.

“Yes, and let’s hope it stays that way, but I think we should reinforce it somehow, find any kind of long surfaces that help it stand”

“Like what?” Mike asked.

“I was thinking maybe the stands of the pitch would do” Blaine answered.

“Seems like you have it all figured out” Santana sarcastically added, but Blaine decided to ignore her remark before continuing, encouraged by the fact that they all seemed to be listening.

“I also think all the entrances to the building should be watched” he continued, knowing that would be a tough issue as it required a lot of effort from anyone. “There are enough of us so that we can take turns keeping watch. The fact those walkers haven’t found a way in yet doesn’t mean they will never do and we should be prepared”

“Do you really think that’s necessary?” Kitty asked, for once trying not to sound too judgmental. “I mean… nothing has happened so far, and that would take a lot of work and organization”

“I know that” Blaine answered in an understanding tone. “But our survival depends solely on us”

“We can’t be cautious enough” Sam said in support of his best friend’s idea, repeating those words Blaine had said the day he woke up from his coma.

“I don’t know, Blaine…” Puck intervened, not sounding too convinced at Blaine’s ideas. “Those walkers, as you call them, are really stupid”

“They’re also very dangerous. Especially in closed spaces” Blaine reminded them, although by their skeptical expressions he could tell they hadn’t needed to fight them that much –unlike him–. “If they were to enter the building and we were not prepared, we’d be in serious trouble”

“But that’s the thing, right?” Puck insisted. “They’re outside, and the fence is going to keep them that way”

“But can we be sure?” Blaine insisted. “When I was in that hospital…”

“Oh please, stop it already with that damned hospital!” Santana rudely interrupted him, creating an awkward silence once again, as no one wanted to be the recipient of Santana’s trademark wrath. “We know the story!”

“Santana, I was only trying to share my experience with…” Blaine tried, but again he was stopped before he could finish.

“Your experience? Who do you think you are, some kind of Indiana Jones? You think we need for you to rescue us or something?”

“I’m not trying to rescue you or anything, but if there is a way to take advantage of what I’ve learnt in the past two weeks…”

“Who do you think you are? The almighty Blaine Anderson who always have the right answer, right? It’s always been like that, even in the Glee club, you’ve always thought you are better than anyone. You hide a lot of arrogance under all that cloying and well mannered appearance, mister” Santana spat at him, her voice getting louder with each word.

“Santana, that’s enough” Sam tried to intervene in his best friend’s favor, but she was not finished by all means.

“No, it’s not” she continued, standing up to make more of an impression. “You just arrived here and treat us like we are all stupid, like you know better than anyone else. Well, we’ve managed fine until you showed up, right? You should be grateful we took you in instead of wanting to take over the whole group. And now yeah, go and reproach them again for leaving you in that hospital, we can’t wait to hear it again”

“I haven’t said a word about that, Santana” Blaine replied, trying to keep his voice at a normal tone because the last thing he had intended was to get into a fight.

“That’s true. On the contrary, he defended us” Artie reminded her.

“Yeah, isn’t he the picture of perfection?” Santana replied, her voice full of venom and sarcasm.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Santana?” Sam loudly protested, not being able to remain as level-tempered as his friend. “Blaine is only trying to keep all of you alive!”

“We don’t need him for that!” she yelled back at Sam, before turning to the others hoping to find some allegiances amongst them –though she didn’t seem to find them, which just angered even more–. “I’m not going to just stand and let him take control of everything just because you all feel guilty about what happened at the hospital!”

“Is that it? Is this your vengeance for the conversation they had this morning?” Sebastian asked in astonishment. And those were the friends Blaine had chosen over the warblers when he had decided to stay at McKinley?

“Nobody asked for your opinion, meerkat-face” Santana retorted, and Sebastian was about to jump on her when Blaine grabbed his arm to stop him: nobody was going to fight for him.

“You know what? Forget it” Blaine said, rising up on his feet himself to leave, as suddenly he felt as if he couldn’t breathe in that room and he didn’t want anybody else involved in that war on his behalf. “You’re right, I don’t know more than any of you, and you have taken good care of yourselves until now. I’m sorry if I offended you”

“Blaine, don’t go” Sebastian said, feeling sorry for the boy and for the fact that his intervention had been the last straw.

“Come and have some dinner, you are still recovering” Sam pleaded, his heart breaking at the defeat he could see in his best friend’s face.

“I’m not hungry, Sam, thank you” he answered, trying to smile for Sam’s benefit, though it was quite obvious that he was not feeling it. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Good night”

“What the hell was that about, you bitch?” Tina yelled at Santana, as Blaine leaving the room seemed to get her out of her stupor.

“Tina, please” Mike tried to stop her.

“No! Blaine was only trying to help!” she protested.

“I know, but we don’t need any more fighting tonight”

“Thank you, Santana” Sam intervened without raising his voice this time, only that made him sound even more threatening. “Aren’t you the greatest of friends?”

“Shit, I had forgotten how much of a bitch you are” Sebastian added, as he and Santana had never seen each other eye to eye.

“I’m going to see if he’s alright” Sam announced, intending only for Sebastian to hear, but the snort Santana made told him she had heard him too.

“Yes, please, go see if the little prince is crying his eyes out” she sarcastically added, and Brittany rolled her eyes at her, wishing she would just let go.

“If I didn’t know how important food is nowadays, believe me when I tell you I’d throw these spaghettis all over your head, Santana” Sam said, and he turned to go before he lost control of himself and did something he could regret.

**********

He didn’t know where Blaine was, but he imagined he would hide away in the infirmary, the place that had quickly become their room. He hoped he had been wise enough to not go outside or be wandering around the corridors with that injured leg of his.

And he was not wrong. When he arrived he was both relieved and sad to indeed find him in the room. At least he knew where he was, but his posture, lying on the mat unmoving, just looking at the ceiling, gave away a lot of his current state of mind. Damn, couldn’t he get a break?

“Hey” Sam said to make his presence known, but by the way Blaine still didn’t even bat an eyelid, he guessed he had already been aware of it.

“Hey” he answered, and his voice sounded so neutral that it was difficult to know how he was feeling –that is, for anyone who wasn’t Sam, who knew the shorter guy like the back of his hand.

“You okay?” Sam asked more directly that he had intended as he slowly lied down on his side, next to his friend.

“Yeah” Blaine lied.

“Don’t listen to Santana, she’s just being her usual bitchy self” Sam advised him, playfully punching his arm if only because he didn’t know what else to do. “Probably because I made Brittany cry in the morning, and you know how protective she is of her. Once she realizes how wrong she is, she will apologize, I’m sure. Besides, no one sided up with her”

“No one stood up to her either” Blaine contradicted him, and at least Sam was glad he was talking, instead of keeping it all inside like he sometimes did. “Well, apart from you, of course”

“Well, I was not going to just stand there and see her attacking my hero like that, right?” he replied, although he was only half joking.

“Your hero?” Blaine asked with a smile, turning his head around to look at his friend.

“Yes, my hero” Sam repeated, reciprocating his smile, wishing he knew what to do or say to make his friend feel better. “The one who’s kept me alive for so long”

“Yeah, right” Blaine answered sarcastically, resuming his apparent fascination with the ceiling.

“And they did stand up to her when you left” Sam explained, knowing Blaine desperately needed to know some of the guys supported him. “I thought I was going to have to tie Tina to her chair so she wouldn’t kill Santana!”

Blaine chuckled at that, but it sounded sadder than a sob would have.

“You know none of those things Santana said are true, right?” Sam reminded him, resting a hand on Blaine’s arm for good measure.

“I only wanted to help” Blaine answered in the softest voice.

“I know, B” Sam reassured him, squeezing his bicep again. “Everybody knows. And hey, even Santana knows. We’re just under a lot of pressure, and I bet she was feeling quite stupid she hadn’t thought about those things herself”

“This is not working” Blaine suddenly said after a couple of minutes of silence, and the way he shook his head told Sam he was not going to like what he was going to hear.

“What is not working?”

“I thought being around other people was the most important thing. But all I’ve done since we arrived is make everyone angry, or guilty or feel stupid”

“That’s not true. You’re just seeing things the wrong way because you’re upset, but…”

“Maybe I should just go” Blaine announced, just like that, just as if those words weren’t going to break Sam’s heart.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Sam tried not to yell as he sat up.

“I could go and try to find my parents” Blaine explained, sitting up himself to have that conversation face to face with his friend –it was the least he could do, after all.

“You don’t know where they are!” Sam protested energetically. “And we are finally surrounded by people, are you going to throw that away because of a silly fight?”

“Cohabitation and mutual trust is the essence now, Sam” Blaine answered, keeping calm for Sam even if the latter was practically yelling at him. “And if I’m being an obstacle for that…”

“You can’t just go, Blaine. It’s too dangerous!” Sam said, taking his hand in his to make more of an impression in a desperate move. “You said it yourself, we need people to survive!”

“Maybe I was wrong” Blaine answered with a sad shrug of his shoulders. “But hey, don’t worry, I know how to defend myself, you know that. Nothing is going to happen to me”

“Blaine, I know you’re the most qualified person around to fight those walkers, but even you wouldn’t last a day out there on your own! It’s too dangerous!” Sam tried to reason with him, terrified at how confident Blaine seemed to be about his decision.

“It’s not!” Blaine tried to convince him as he caressed Sam’s cheek with his knuckles, understanding how it was not going to be easy for the taller boy to see him go. “I know I can make it. I’ve done it before”

“You know that if you go, I go, right?” Sam whispered as he joined their foreheads together, desperate to feel Blaine’s skin against his as if that would mean he was not going anywhere.

“What?” Blaine exclaimed, bending over backwards so he could look into Sam’s eyes. “No, Sam, you don’t have…”

“I thought we established we are a team” Sam interrupted him.

“I know but I want you to stay here, where I know you’re safe”

“So you admit that going out there is dangerous, right?”

“Well…” Blaine tried to refute Sam’s arguments, but he stopped himself with a sigh when he realized he couldn’t.

“Either we make it together or we fail together” Sam insisted, squeezing the hand of the other boy he still had wrapped in his. “But I’m not going to try without you”

Blaine was too moved to say anything else, so he just threw his arms around his friend and hugged him with all his forces, trying not to think how wonderful it felt when Sam wrapped him up with his own arms to close the embrace.

“We’re in this together until the end” Sam reminded him again, and he smiled when he felt Blaine’s head coming to rest on his shoulder trustingly, as he knew he had convinced him to stay.

“Thank you, Sammy” Blaine answered in a shaky voice as he reinforced his grip on the taller boy and sighed when Sam’s fingers found their way through the curls on the back of his head.

Sam was about to reply when a loud noise coming from outside made them jump and separate as they tried to figure out what could have possibly happened.

“What was that?” Sam asked, looking at his friend, desperate for answers.

“Shit, Sam, it’s the fence!” Blaine suddenly yelled, eyes huge with terror, as he understood what was happening. “It’s falling!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha, so cliffhangers are back! :) The next chapter is going to be a bit more difficult to write and, on top of that, I haven't completely figured it out yet, so it may take a little more time. Be patient, please


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, sorry for the delay! This chapter was an absolute nightmare to write, so I really really hope it's not a nightmare to read too! 
> 
> I don't know if I've managed to make myself understood in all the action scenes about what was really happening (I already warned you at the beginning, action is not my thing!). I've tried my best, I swear, I hope you don't have too much trouble understanding what the hell is happening!
> 
> Please, enjoy! And let me know if I should stop writing forever and bury myself under the sea after this!

Blaine forgot about his injured leg as he stood up and ran for his life across the halls, Sam close at his heels, towards the main entrance.

“The fence is falling!” he yelled on his way out, hoping his voice would reach the people in the choir room. “Quick, we need to stop it!”

He didn’t even stop to see if he was been followed, but all the noise that suddenly erupted behind him told him that everyone had heard his plea for help. He hoped they wouldn’t be so selfish or naïve this time and be ready to fight. Because they were going to need to fight alright.

“Grab all your weapons you have. Knives, guns, whatever, you’re going to need them!” he yelled over his shoulder, and he was sure he could hear some of them starting to murmur and even cry, and he corroborated that way, as he had imagined, that they had hardly had to fight until then and didn’t have any idea of how to do it.

When he opened the main door of the building, he only stopped for a second to do a quick scan of the situation: one portion of the fence was almost to the floor by then, and a couple of the walkers were making their way in through the sides. Not taking the time to think about it twice, Blaine got his knife out of his pocket and ran to them.

“Blaine, wait!” Sam begged after him, as Blaine’s speed had left him quite a long way behind, but he chose to ignore it and kept running.

Some of the students behind him shouted at they saw him running towards danger like that, but they didn’t know how much experience Blaine had had with those monsters while at the hospital. With one quick and sharp movement he embedded his weapon in the first walker’s head, eliciting a horrible noise from the creature before it fell at his feet. The second walker was just at arm’s length from him when he attacked again and also finished him off without hesitation until it landed on its knees.

From the corner of his eye he saw a third walker making his way through the tiny space created on the fences and he turned around to face it too. But when he tried to get his knife out of his previous victim’s skull, he was appalled to discover he had embedded it so deeply that it was now stuck.

Blaine searched in his other pockets for more weapons, but he remembered he had lost them all in the car accident from the night before. He only had that knife he had taken from McKinley’s kitchen now and even that was not an option anymore. He pulled with all his forces, even if his hands were shaking like crazy, but the damned knife wouldn’t move. And he could already feel the putrid and disgusting odor of the walker just inches from his own face. Knowing there wasn’t anything he could do, he kept pulling on the knife desperately, but he closed his eyes in fear: if he had to die, at least he didn’t want to see it.

He lowered his head and winced at what was about to come, but suddenly he heard some movement behind him and the by now too familiar noise of breaking bones told him someone had come to his rescue. And he knew who that was even before he opened his eyes.

“I told you to wait!” Sam angrily reproached him as he unceremoniously grabbed Blaine’s hand and placed another knife in it. “You stubborn knucklehead”

Blaine knew Sam’s anger only came by the fear at seeing him almost eaten alive by one of those walkers, and he wanted to thank him for that and for saving his life, and reassure him that he was alright, but unfortunately they didn’t have time for that.

Blaine crouched next to the partially fallen portion of the fence and tried to lift it, but the walkers were still pushing onto it and soon it was quite evident he was not going to be able to do it on his own.

“Don’t stay there, help me raise the fence again!” he yelled at his back, hoping his classmates would react once and for all.

His cry for help put most of them into action, and they ran towards where Blaine was holding the fence and Sam was trying to keep the walkers from making their way through the still present gap in the fence by killing any of them who dared to try. Soon Sebastian, Puck, Trent, Tina, Mike and Brittany were there too and they copied Blaine’s action at grabbing the fence.

“On the count of three!” Sebastian said, knowing how important it was to work as a team. “One… two… three!”

With a collective cry of effort, the seven teenagers pulled the fence up with all their forces until it was standing again, pretending not to hear the crushing noise one of the walkers made when being caught up in between the different segments.

“We need more people here!” Blaine shouted when he noticed how the walkers kept pushing against the fence he was holding with all his forces.

Fortunately, more and more people were beginning to understand how important and necessary it was for them all to collaborate, and they responded to Blaine’s cry by running to the fence and helping them hold it in place.

“We need something to shore up the fence!” Blaine explained in a rush, his voice sounding determined and confident in spite of the terrible fear he was experiencing and the panting from all the effort. “Sam, we need the wood from the pitch stands as we talked, go and get it! We can hold it until then!”

“No, Blaine, I…” Sam hesitated as he saw how hard they were all holding against the dozens of walkers trying to push their way in. There was no way they could hold it in place until he was back with the wood, especially if some of them left to gather the wood.

“Please, Sam, I need you to do that for me! We’ll be alright” Blaine tried to convince him, wanting him to see he only trusted him with that job –although he had a second reason for wanting him to go, and that was having him away from there in case they couldn’t hold the fence until they were back.

“But Blaine…” Sam insisted, having the exact same worries about his friend.

“Go!” Blaine yelled, as he didn’t have the time to try and convince him.

“Come on, Sam” Puck said as he grabbed Sam’s arm and started pulling him away, accepting Blaine’s leadership as he had seen enough to see it was the wisest thing to do. “All of you, help them with the fence!”

Everyone who had been just standing there moved to do as Puck had ordered, as the latter pushed Sam away, followed by Mike, Sebastian, Kitty, Jake and Marley, who wanted to help.

“Sam, start walking, for God’s sake!” Puck angrily ordered him as he shoved him rudely towards the pitch. “They will be alright!”

“What if…?” Sam tried to say, his voice shaking with fear and sorrow for the people they had left there –and who was he trying to fool, mostly for Blaine–. But Puck often saw and understood more than he showed, and knew just the right thing to say to get Sam into action.

“The fence won’t fall, it’s in our hands to see that it doesn’t” he reminded him. “Blaine trusted us, let’s not let him down, okay?”

“Right” Sam answered before he started fully running towards the pitch. Puck was right: Blaine had trusted him with a mission and he was not going to fail him.

**********

“Blaine, we’re not going to be able to hold on for long” Trent, standing just at Blaine’s side, whispered to him, not wanting to spread panic amongst the already very frightened people around them.

“I know” Blaine admitted, just pushing on the fence even more strongly at Trent’s words. “But Sam will be back in time, don’t worry”

No one dared to say a word after that, as they were too preoccupied at giving the best of themselves in holding the fence against the walkers continuous onslaughts, but the horrible noise those monsters made, mixed with the sobbing of some of the students, filled the air in a way Blaine knew he was not going to forget in a long time.

***********

The other group reached the pitch in record time, and Sam was all over the stands in one jump. He grabbed the first plank of wood he could reach and started pulling like a madman, only to be disappointed that it seemed to be well nailed.

“Shit! It won’t come off!” he yelled in frustration, though the fact that the plank had not even moved an inch wasn’t enough to make him stop pulling.

“It’s strongly nailed” Sebastian observed, looking at Sam from the corner of his eye, almost expecting him to try and gets the nails with his teeth or something like that. “We need tools”

“We don’t have the time for that!” Sam protested, still trying to get his work done.

“I know where I can find them” Puck announced. “I’ll be as fast as I can. Jake, come with me!”

The Puckerman brothers didn’t wait for an answer as they ran in the direction Puck was signaling as the others nervously watched them go. Except for Sam, who was still pulling on one of the planks stubbornly, as if he couldn’t conceive just stopping and waiting while the others –and Blaine– were in so much danger.

“Sam, stop, you’re going to hurt yourself” Mike warned him, his own heart breaking at the precious time they were losing, but Sam was a whole other thing.

“We’ve got no time to lose!” Sam answered as he tried even harder.

“Sam, that’s enough” Sebastian said as he grabbed Sam’s arm in an attempt to stop him, though the latter angrily shrugged him off and turned to yell at him.

“Why aren’t you helping?” Sam screamed, and for a moment Sebastian felt real fear at Sam’s rage. “Why are you all just standing there?”

“We’ll get to work as soon as Puck brings the tools, Sam” Sebastian answered, trying to sound reasonable.

“That’s not good enough! They could be dying as we speak!” Sam raised his voice again, but Sebastian didn’t let himself be intimidated by Sam’s wrath this time –as he knew he was not really angry, but terribly scared– and grabbed Sam’s biceps to get his attention.

“They’re going to be alright, Sam” he answered, shaking him slightly to make more of an impression, and then he lowered his voice so only Sam would hear. “He’s going to be alright”

“I can’t lose him, Sebastian” Sam answered, equally low, before turning to work desperately again.

**********

Blaine noticed one of the girls he knew from the Cheerios, Bree, was becoming increasingly hysterical as minutes passed: her sobs were getting louder and she kept saying they weren’t going to make it. It was not that he couldn’t understand –he was terrified too, and he had had to fight those monsters a thousand times before, while she probably hadn’t needed to kill even one of them– but she was starting to spread his fear amongst some of the other students, and the last thing they needed was to break into panic.

“You’re doing great, guys!” Blaine tried to encourage them. “We just need to hold on a bit longer”

“This is not going to work!” Bree yelled back at him, and Blaine wondered if he had made a mistake while trying to help.

“It’s going to work, Bree, we just need to keep calm and the others will…” Blaine tried to reason with her, but she was beyond any control of herself by then.

“They won’t make it in time, and you know it! All of you know it! They are going to eat us!” she yelled, and Blaine noticed the increase in the sobbing and murmuring in some of the people around them.

“They are not because we’re not going to let them! But we need to fight together for that!”

“You do what you have to do, Anderson, but I’m not going to stay here waiting to die!” she yelled as she finally let go of the fence and stopped trying to hold it. “And if you all know what’s good for you, you’ll do the same!”

Bree didn’t wait to see if anyone was going to follow her as she ran away from the place. And at first nobody moved a muscle. But then some of those students, especially some of the cheerios that had been in the squad with her, started letting go of the fence too.

“Don’t move!” Blaine screamed desperately at them, as they needed everyone’s strength to be able to keep the walkers at the other side of the fence. “We need you to hold it in place!”

“We’re sorry, Blaine” Dottie, another one of the cheerios that Blaine had come to like and respect a lot during his time in the team, apologized, her eyes filling with tears as she ran after all the other people.

“Don’t go inside!” Blaine yelled after them, pushing on the fence all the more strongly now that there were only the remaining glee club members –plus Trent– that weren’t with Sam left for the job, worried about their safety even above his anger at their selfishness. “You’ll get trapped in there!”

“We’re not going to make it now” Ryder said, his face strained with the doubled effort to not let the fence fall now there were only ten of them holding it.

“We just need to do a bigger effort!” Blaine tried to encourage them. “Just a little more time and…”

But before he could finish the sentence, the fence finally gave in under the walkers’ weight.

**********

“Here!” Puck yelled as he and his brother ran towards the others, their hands full with all kinds of tools and a toolbox.

“Quick!” Sam pleaded, running towards them to meet them halfway. “We’ve lost enough time as it is”

Without even saying a word, all of them took some of the tools the Puckermans had brought and started working on pulling off the planks that acted as seats from the damned stands. Even with the tools, it still proved to be very difficult, and Sam prayed they would still have time as he furiously removed some unshed tears from his eyes.

**********

Blaine felt an explosion of pain as the fence fell on him and made contact with the wound on his leg. He knew he had opened it again, as he could feel blood already soaking his pants, but he had more important things to worry about. As the walker lying on top of him, on the other side of the fence, and which was trying to reach him. But fortunately he was quicker than him, and he pulled the knife Sam had given him from his pocket to stick it in the walker’s skull.

“Blaine” a terrified soft voice sounded to his side, and he turned his head around to see that Tina was in a very similar situation to his and a walker was trying to get her through the fence.

“Stay calm, Tina” he said, trying not to sound as scared as he really was when he realized there was no way he could reach her. “Do you have a weapon with you?”

“Yes, I have a screwdriver in my pocket” she answered, as calmly as she could even if tears were running down her cheeks.

“Ok, so grab it well and bury it in its head” he continued, still talking as serenely and comfortingly as he could manage.

“It’s just a child” she sobbed and it was then that Blaine noticed what she meant: the body of the walker about to attack her had clearly belonged to a little boy, probably around ten or so, and that made it all the more difficult.

“It’s not anymore” Blaine reminded her, as no matter the age or the condition the person had been before dying: they were all equally deadly. “They’re not people. You can do it, Tey Tey”

“Ok” she let herself be convinced as she reached in her jeans pocket and slowly took the screwdriver as Blaine had told her. But the walker took advantage of her hesitation and had managed to reach a good position to attack.

“Now, Tina!” Blaine yelled, his heart in his mouth as he watched one of his best friends about to be eaten alive. “Stick it in its head!”

With a yell Tina did as she was told and aimed his weapon towards the walker, efficiently killing it in just one move. Then Tina started sobbing, but Blaine didn’t have the time to comfort her when he felt arms grabbing his and he struggled to disentangle himself.

“Stop, Blaine, it’s me” Ryder said as he tried to drag Blaine from under the fence, and one look at his side told the latter than Unique was doing the same with Tina, as apparently they both had been the only ones to have the fence fall onto them.

With all the commotion Blaine didn’t know when the shots started, but as soon as he was on his feet thanks to Ryder’s help he could see Joe, Sugar, Santana and Trent shooting at the walkers coming to them, now that there was nothing standing in their way.

“We can’t hold them down!” Trent announced, and it was pretty evident that there were not enough shooters to take care of the dozens of walkers coming to them.

“Let’s get inside the building!” Santana suggested, taking Brittany’s hand and pushing her behind her.

“No!” Blaine immediately answered as he limped away from the walkers. “It’s not safe, we’ll be trapped there if they manage to enter!”

“Then what do we do?” Artie asked, and Blaine was both relieved and overwhelmed that they were turning to him for answers.

“Spread and hide! Run!” Blaine ordered them. “We need them to separate to finish them off! Those who have guns need to find a place to hide and keep shooting at them!”

“And what about us?” Sugar asked as she put herself behind Artie’s wheelchair to push him.

“We’ll reunite when this is over in this exact same place, okay?” Blaine suggested, implying with that that he needed everyone’s help to finish all those walkers. “Now go! Hide and keep silent!”

He just waited a second to see everyone running away from the place on their own or in small groups before he started half running, half limping towards the pitch, knowing he had to be fast now that there was no one shooting at the walkers. And someone needed to warn the others –and Sam– that he had failed.

**********

The group on the stands were working diligently, trying to get some of the wood planks free to use them on the fence, where the first shot was heard. They all stopped immediately and turned their eyes towards the sound, although they couldn’t see the entrance from their place.

“What was that?” Marley asked to no one in particular, but before anyone could answer a serious of shots followed the first one and left no doubt about what they were.

“Work faster!” Sam screamed as he turned again towards his work, knowing the situation on the fence had to be getting difficult if they were shooting their weapons at the walkers.

They all got back to work, even in a frenzier rhythm than before, but Kitty raised her eyes for a second and she almost burst out crying at what she saw: some walkers were starting to appear round the corner of the building.

“Shit, guys, the walkers have entered!” she cried from fear at having to confront them and from the anguish of what that could mean to the friends they had left behind.

“No, no, no, no, the fence fell!” Sam exclaimed just before completely forgetting about the task at hand and starting to run towards the entrance.

“Sam, watch out!” he heard Puck yell behind him, but he didn’t turn around or stop to check if they were coming with him, as he only had one thought in his mind.

“Gosh, Blaine, please, be alright” he said to himself as he took his machete out of his pocket and grabbed strongly onto it to kill whatever walker that would stand on his way to his best friend.

**********

Blaine could have burst out crying when he realized his injured leg was never going to let him outrun the group of walkers chasing him, which meant he wasn’t going to be able to warn Sam and the others about them in time. There was no way he could continue just running away from them if he wanted to survive, and fighting all of them on his own was also out of question.

So the only feasible alternative was to hide.

He waited until there was a corner on the building he was running next to so he could give the walkers a slip and then hurried behind a couple of rubbish skips he recognized as the ones McKinley bullies had used to throw their victims inside what seemed like ages ago and he squished himself between them and the wall of the building, making himself next to invisible. He wasn’t sure if the walkers guided themselves by the sense of smell as much as by noise, but he hoped the stench of the two-weeks-old rubbish those skips gave off would be enough to make him go unnoticed if that was the case.

He tried to breathe slower and more deeply so they couldn’t hear him, but the effort of running with an injured leg and the fear he was fearing for himself and all his friends –and Sam– were still making him pant.

He had to repress another sudden urge to cry at just another failure, about being unable to warn the people at the stands about what was happening. If he had to think realistically, they must have heard the shots. There were a lot of them so they could look after each other, and if they were still at the stands, they were high enough above the ground to see the walkers way before they were upon them. But knowing all that didn’t make it any easier to stop worrying. Knowing Sam was out there, in danger, and he wasn’t close enough to make sure he was safe was breaking his heart.

With his knife still in his hands, just in case, he sat down against the wall and made himself into a ball so he could hide his face between his knees and pretend, just for a second, that everything was going to be alright.

**********

Sam ran like a madman towards the entrance, completely ignoring the yelling behind him telling him to stop running towards danger and wait for them. But they didn’t understand. They couldn’t understand how important it was for him to make sure Blaine was alright. They hadn’t lived what he and Blaine had had to live together. They couldn’t understand the bond they had forged through their pain and grieving. They couldn’t understand that if Blaine was dead, he would die too.

He had to kill two walkers on his way, but he already had the hang out of it so he didn’t even need to stop to do it, and he had enough time to reach a point from where he could see the entrance before any more walkers reached him. And what he saw there made his eyes fill with tears and his throat narrow to the point he couldn’t practically breath: the fence was totally down, the walkers could enter the place now completely at their will and there was no trace of anybody of the students that had been holding the fence. But where Blaine had been standing the last time he saw him, now there was only a small puddle of blood.

“Blaine!” Sam yelled before he could stop himself. He didn’t know if he might be around –or even alive–, but he couldn’t help himself from trying. Or it was just a way of expressing his grief through his friend’s name, he didn’t know. He just couldn’t stop. “Blaine!”

A hand out of nowhere grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him towards the wall of the building. Sam got the fright of his life and spun around, his machete lifted in front of him and ready to attack and finish whatever opponent he might be encountering.

“Sam, it’s me!” Blaine whispered as he instinctively raised a hand in front of his face and closed his eyes in case Sam didn’t recognize him in time.

“Oh God” Sam exclaimed with a sob as he lowered his weapon and took Blaine in his arms in a embrace so strong that he feared he was going to crush him, even if he couldn’t stop himself from doing it. “I thought you were gone”

“Not yet” Blaine reassured him with a shaky voice, as he had been just as scared about not seeing his best friend again as Sam had been, while taking advantage of their embrace to pull Sam more securely into the protection of his hiding place.

Blaine let himself slip to the floor and brought Sam with him until they were both sitting down next to each other, their backs to the walls and their bodies glued together from shoulder to feet, trying to make themselves invisible to anyone that wasn’t them. Though that didn’t even seem enough, so Sam picked Blaine’s hand in his and intertwined their fingers together for extra comfort.

Sam couldn’t believe the relief at having Blaine by his side, safe and sound. Well, not so much, as Sam could see the leg of his pants covered by blood at the bottom, just as it had been the night before when they got him out from under that damned car.

“Your leg is bleeding” Sam observed stupidly, as if Blaine wouldn’t have realized that on his own.

“I know” Blaine answered as he made a motion with a finger to his lips to talk more quietly, his voice so low that Sam needed to get even closer to him to hear it.

“Is everybody safe?” Sam asked, as asking if everybody was dead seemed too terrible.

“They were, last time I saw them” Blaine answered, letting himself be comforted by Sam’s presence for a second as he rested his head on the blond’s shoulder before saying the words that he knew his friend wouldn’t approve. “Sam, there are people inside, we need to get them out”

“What? We can’t go in there!” Sam protested, as Blaine had been expecting. “You can barely walk!”

“We can’t leave them like that” Blaine pleaded from Sam to understand, the pain on his leg the last thing in his mind as he thought of all the students trapped in the building.

“But Blaine…” Sam tried to protest again, although he perfectly knew the battle was lost and Blaine would do anything, with or without his blessing, to keep everyone alive.

“They don’t know how to fight like we do, Sam, they will never make it on their own” Blaine tried to reason with him and, even if Sam knew he was right, he couldn’t bring himself to let him sacrifice himself from them.

“We can’t save everyone, Blaine!” Sam tried to convince him, cupping Blaine’s cheeks with his hands to make more of an impression.

“But we can at least try” Blaine answered with a sad smile before he kissed Sam’s cheek in a rush, and then he was on his feet and running towards the building before Sam could react, taking advantage of the fact that the walkers that had been around had already passed them by for the time being.

“No!” Sam yelled behind him in a desperate –and futile– attempt to stop him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this one is really long!

Sam left his hiding place as soon as he reacted and ran after Blaine, hoping he would be able to stop him before it was too late for him.

“Blaine, stop!” he yelled after him, wishing that for once his best friend wouldn’t be his usual stubborn self and would listen to him.

But no chance of that happening. Whether he didn’t hear him –which Sam seriously doubted, as the distance between them was not that big– or he simply ignored him, Blaine continued running towards the entrance of the building, apparently not minding it was infested by a good portion of the walkers that had crossed the fallen fence and which were trying to tear the door down.

Sam felt immediately guilty for thinking it, but he suddenly felt grateful for the wound and the pain in Blaine’s leg that were keeping him from running at his usual speed. Sam knew there was no way he would catch him on normal circumstances; but those were not normal circumstances and Blaine was injured, so in the end Sam ended up been faster than him for once and grabbed the upper part of his arms in a desperate attempt of keeping him from danger.

“Stop it, dammit!” Sam ordered as he grabbed him with all his forces, even throwing an arm around Blaine’s chest from behind to make sure he was able to keep him in place.

“Let me go” Blaine protested, struggling against Sam’s arms even if he knew it was a lost cause, as Sam was stronger than him even at the best of times –which those weren’t, as he was injured and still weak from the ordeal of the night before–. Maybe words would work better; after all, Sam had the biggest heart ever, it would be easy to appeal to his goodness to convince him. “We have to help them!”

“We’ll do it, but let’s do it right, ok?” Sam angrily whispered on his ear as he tried to reason with him, surprising Blaine as he thought Sam only wanted to stop him. “Or are you planning on just jumping on those walkers trying to tear down the door?”

“No” Blaine admitted, noticing the grip Sam was keeping around his torso starting to relax, though he still wasn’t letting go completely, just in case.

“Then let’s be sensible, for God’s sake” Sam protested, giving Blaine a final squeeze before letting go of him as a way of warning that he was not going to put up with any more nonsense.

“Guys, what’s happening?” Puck asked as the rest of the group that had been at the stands reached them after having been able to avoid most of the walkers around.

“Blaine, you’re hurt!” Sebastian exclaimed as soon as he saw the blood on Blaine’s leg.

“I’m okay, my wound just reopened” Blaine answered in a rush, as he didn’t want to lose any more time on explanations as several people were depending on them. “Guys, some of these people went inside, we need to get them out”

“Tina?” Mike asked, his heart in his throat.

“No, no, Tina is alright” Blaine hurried to explain, knowing how much the girl mattered to Mike so he decided to avoid how close she had been to being bitten. “All the glee members are hiding and running. It was the others: they left the fence and ran inside”

“They left the fence?” Marley repeated, as if she would have trouble believing they could have done something like that.

“They panicked” Blaine answered, with a sad nod. “We’re not going to leave them in the lurch for that, though, right?”

“No, we’re not” Sam relented, knowing that if they didn’t help Blaine, he would do it on his own. “Damn you, you stubborn mule” he muttered to himself, although Blaine couldn’t help the smallest smile when he heard it anyway.

“Ok, as Sam pointed out” Blaine rushed to explain, feeling the need to give Sam the credit he deserved, “we need to take care of those walkers at the door before anything else. I know some of you haven’t fought any of those walkers yet so… if you think you can’t do it, just run and hide. We’ll understand”

“We’ll fight with you” Jake said as he looked at Marley for confirmation and she nodded her head as confidently as she could manage.

“Do any of you have a gun?” Blaine asked because, as good as knifes were in short distances, guns would prove very useful to start killing those damned walkers before they were on them.

As it turned out, Puck, Mike, Sebastian and Kitty all had guns, plus the one Trent had given to Sam the night before at the gas station.

“In fact, I’ve got two guns” Puck said as he handed Blaine one of them. “Do you know how to use it?”

“I think so” Blaine said as he firmly grabbed it, turned around and shot twice, making two of the walkers fall instantly.

“Ok, Doc Holliday, calm down” Puck half joked as he watched his petite friend starting to walk decidedly towards the entrance, gun in hand as if he had been doing it all his life.

“I was just lucky” Blaine answered as he himself was surprised at what he had done. But Sam had explained to him how firearms worked, and he had always been a fast learner. “Ok, let’s go!”

Sam gulped before he drew his own weapon and followed Blaine towards the door. He could see what Blaine was doing: for starters, he had tried to look confident and reliable so the others would trust him; he had always hated to look weak, so in a situation like that, when everybody was starting to turn to him as the leader he had always been, he needed to give a strong appearance. And in second place, which angered Sam to a big extent, he had shot so quickly so that the rest of the walkers would react to that. That way some of them at least would leave the door and go to their encounter. And that way they would be forced to take part in it and Sam would not be able to stop him again. What a clever little shit he was… He would admire him if he wasn’t so angry.

“Come on!” Blaine yelled as an encouragement as he started shooting again, this time not stopping as he was glad to hear the rest of them following his instructions.

Everyone with a gun started shooting, even though most of them didn’t know what they were doing –as they never had used a gun before– and most of the shots didn’t each any target. Even Blaine, who had just experienced beginner’s luck only a moment before, was very aware of how many of his attempts were not reaching their destiny, and he was becoming more and more frustrated. Apparently only Sam really knew how to shoot, and it was mostly thanks to him that they were keeping the walkers at bay.

“The door is opening!” Marley shouted to make herself heard above all the noise, but the others had already seen it.

“Shit, they haven’t been able to hold it anymore” Blaine answered as he turned around and placed his gun on Marley’s hands. “It’s time to fight”

“Blaine, what…?” the girl asked, but the latter had an answer ready.

“I’ve got more experience fighting them hand-to-hand” Blaine explained as he took his knife from his waistband and held onto it. “You’ll need this to protect yourself”

“Can you just worry about yourself for once, even if it’s only for a second?” Sam angrily reproached him in a whisper as Blaine accelerated his pace towards the walkers coming to them.

“I wasn’t getting a single one right anyway” Blaine joked, trying to erase that frown on Sam’s face that he hated so much. He understood that Sam’s annoyance at his actions only came from his worrying, but he still didn’t like for Sam to be angry at him.

And apparently Sam didn’t like it any more than he did, as he chuckled in spite of himself.

“Right in the brain, guys!” Blaine yelled at his back before he started running towards the first walker with an encouraging cry of war, hoping against hope that none of them would end up hurt –or worse, but he didn’t even dare to think about it.

Any fear any of them might have had was put aside as they fought for their lives. Sam soon discovered that Blaine was right and knives were pretty more useful at short distance, and both of them would have been a nice spectacle to watch in other circumstances as they effectively killed a walker after another, in just one move most of the time.

Of course Sebastian also knew what he was doing, and Puck, Mike and Kitty were doing better than they would have expected, moved by a strong instinct to survive and to help the others do the same. Marley and Jake were not as skilful, and more than once one of the others had to step in and help them, but even they were giving the best of themselves.

Out of the corner of his eye Blaine saw someone running towards the entrance, with no weapon in hand and apparently so desperate she didn’t seem as if she gave a damn about her own security. A better look at the girl told Blaine it was Santana, and she took advantage of the fact that almost all the walkers had already been killed to run to the door himself and stop her before she went inside.

“Santana!” he yelled as he grabbed her arms, but she was struggling so hard against his grip that for a moment he thought she was going to escape, so he just held more strongly. “Santana, stop! What’s wrong?”

“Brittany and I got separated while trying to escape and I saw her getting inside!” Santana answered, crying and sobbing so desperately that it was hard for Blaine to understand what she was saying.

“Ok, we’re going to get her, alright?” Blaine promised her in a calm and reassuring tone, trying to stop her from panicking. “You just need to calm down”

“Alright” she answered as she nodded, bringing her hands to her eyes to erase the tears as she prepared herself to follow Blaine’s instructions.

“Do you still have your gun with you?” Blaine asked, needing her to be ready to defend herself if it came to that.

“Yes” she answered as she nervously took it out of the waistband of her pants.

Blaine looked behind him, where he had left the others, and was glad to see Puck killing the last walker as Sam and the others were already coming towards them.

“Santana, you alright?” Sam asked, his big heart making him forget about her harsh words towards Blaine from only a while before.

“Brittany is inside” she answered, more calmly than a second ago but still clearly upset.

“Then we’ve got no time to lose, right?” Sam answered, as he obviously still cared about the blond cheerio even if they had broken up a long time ago.

Very carefully they crossed the threshold of the door the walkers had managed to open only minutes ago, and a collective cry and horrified murmurs broke along the group when they saw all the blood and what looked like pieces of flesh on the floor. The students had probably been holding the door, and when the walkers, who were more than them, finally managed to open it, they didn’t have the time to escape and died at their hands. And the only reason there were no corpses there just meant…

“They are walkers now, right?” Sebastian said, putting in words what everyone was thinking.

“We don’t know how many of them were… killed” Blaine reminded them, trying hard to find the right words until he realized there was no other way to say it. “Some of them might have escaped in one of the classrooms or something”

“Is anybody there?” Jake yelled without thinking as he walked a little down the hall, too overwhelmed with the loss to realize what he had done.

“No, Jake!” Blaine tried to shush him with an expression of horror in his face.

But it was too late: two walkers who were still near, in the first classroom, came quickly out of their hiding place at the sound and turned to attack him. He wasn’t quick enough to turn around to defend himself even if he tried, and the walkers bumped into him and made him fall against the lockers. Unfortunately, he hit the edge of a locker with his head, and was left stunned enough to be unable to react.

Seeing what was happening, Puck ran towards his brother and emptied his gun on the two walkers until they were effectively put down before they could hurt his brother even further.

“Jake?” he said as he kneeled down next to his brother, gently slapping his face in hopes of getting him to react.

“I’m alright” Jake answered after a few seconds, though his wince as he drove his hand to the injured area said a completely different thing.

“Let me help you” Puck said as he and Marley grabbed him under his arms and brought him to his feet, where he quickly realized he was too unsteady to stand on his own.

“Shit, he can’t go on” Puck announced the others, who were circling them to protect them while keeping watch all around them for more intruders.

“You need to get him out of here” Blaine advised them, as it was too dangerous to stay for anyone in less than perfect health –his own injury didn’t even come to his mind–. “I think we should all hide in the sports hall when… when this is over”

“Do you think we’ll be safe there?” Mike asked.

“It’s a whole different building and only has one door that we can easily block from inside, I think we can make it through the night” Blaine explained. “Puck, why don’t you and Marley take Jake there and wait for us? Lock yourselves in and don’t open the door unless one of us gets there”

“I think it’s a good idea” Puck answered as he put his brother’s arm around his shoulders. “Guys, be careful” he warned them as he offered his fist to Sam to bump onto it.

“You too” Sam answered with a silent promise to reunite in a while.

The remaining group only lost a second to see Marley and Puck go with Jake firmly held between them before they decided to start down the corridor to look for any possible survivors. They had learnt their lesson and knew it was wiser to keep quiet, so Sam gestured with a finger to his lips for them to walk as silently as they could.

Most of the classrooms had their doors open, so they didn’t even bother entering and having a quick look around was enough. Trying to be quicker, they alternatively got in each of those apparently danger-free classes, with their weapons ready, just in case. And that worked until they reached a classroom with its door closed. Blaine tried to open it, but was surprised when he discovered it wasn’t locked, but yet he seemed to be finding some resistance, so he decided to bump into it with his shoulder. And, as he had been expecting, the door opened under the force applied and a hand with a knife appeared and moved dangerously close to his face.

Fortunately Sebastian had been standing next to him and his reflexes were good enough to grab that hand around the wrist with force and stop it before he came close enough to Blaine’s face to hurt him.

“Be careful, it’s us” Sebastian angrily said as he pulled at the hand and a very frightened girl appeared, followed by two boys in very much the same state.

“I’m sorry, we thought…” she tried to apologize once she realized how close she had come to kill Blaine, his sobbing intensifying by the second.

“It’s okay” Blaine immediately reassured her, knowing it was wiser to keep people calm and avoid a panic attack. “The path is clear to the door, stay together and get out of here. Go to the sports hall and knock on the door, there are people there waiting for you”

“Thank you, guys” One of the boys they had seen in class sometimes said before they obeyed.

“Well, if we’re going to get killed by our own mates…” Kitty murmured angrily as they continued with their job.

“They didn’t know it was us, Kitty” Mike answered conciliatorily.

They continued going through every classroom on the first floor. Sometimes they stumbled upon other frightened students and they sent them towards the sports hall as they had done with the first ones. Other times they just found blood stains and other signs of terrible things happening, but no one dared to say anything when that happened.

They silently went upstairs to the first floor and they covered it just as they had done on the ground floor. They happened to encounter some more walkers this time, but they were quickly becoming experts about how to take care of them and they always stayed close together so they could help each other in case they need it. Both Mike and Sebastian received minor injuries in one of their fights, but fortunately they were just scratches done against the walls or with their own knives and nothing to worry about.

The second floor was another whole thing. Apparently most of the students had gone up there in their run and the walkers had followed them, and the corridor was infested with those monsters wandering around, still looking for more victims.

“We need to shoot at them from here so there are not so many of them when they reach us” Blaine suggested at the top of the stairs, as they hid behind the banisters. “There’s no way we can fight so many of them in a closed space”

“And how do you plan to shoot, Blaine?” Sam sarcastically asked him. “Because I feel obliged to remind you you gave your gun to Marley. Who is not here anymore, by the way”

“Shit, you’re right” Blaine lamented, slapping at his own thigh in frustration. “It doesn’t matter, I’ll just…”

“Yes, exactly, you’ll just stay here and wait for us to tell you it’s okay to get out” Sam finished for him as he firmly pushed him down until he was sitting on one of the stairs.

“What?” Blaine replied, clearly indignant. “No, I’m not going to…”

“Yes, you are. You are hurt and you need a rest, don’t even think I haven’t noticed you are limping” Sam seriously said, as Blaine was clearly hurting and that was something Sam clearly hated.

“But…” Blaine tried to protest, but he was too surprised that Sam had noticed how much he was hurting to say anything else.

“Glad to see we’ve reached an agreement then” Sam joked as he patted Blaine’s shoulder comfortingly, knowing how much he was going to hate to just sit down and let the others take care of the situation for once.

“Or you will have me to deal with” Sebastian added as he playfully punched Blaine’s arm on his way up. And before Blaine could say anything else, they had all disappeared and the loud noise from their guns filled the place.

Blaine followed all the action with his eyes from behind the banister, hoping against hope that Sam and the others would remain safe, or he would never forgive himself. Fortunately they seemed to be making a great job, and it wouldn’t be long before they finished all those walkers off. At least the ones on the corridor, because they didn’t know if there were any others around. But suddenly something else caught Blaine’s attention, and amongst all the noise he seemed to hear a voice asking for help behind the door in front of him.

Forgetting in an instant he was supposed to stay at the stairs, Blaine ran the few steps separating from that door and urgently knocked onto it.

“Hello? Is there someone there?” he asked, trying not to raise his voice too much.

“Blaine? Is that you?” the voice from the other side of the door asked, and Blaine sighed in relief at her friend’s words.

“Brittany! Are you okay?”

“Blaine, you’ve got to get me out of here!” she answered, practically yelling, and Blaine could tell that something was clearly wrong with the girl.

“What the hell are you doing there, Blaine?” Sam’s angry voice made Blaine jump out of his skin as the blond guy came back to him, followed by the others after killing all the walkers. “I thought I told you to stay put!”

“It’s Brittany, she’s here” Blaine rushed to explain, and even had to step aside as Santana forgot about everything else after his words and ran to the door.

“Britt! You alright?” Santana said as she grabbed the door handle and tried to open the door, to no avail. “I can’t open the door”

“Santana, this girl and I got here in the laboratory to hide and we pushed this big cabinet to block the door, but I fell coming up here and I think I broke my arm, and now I can’t move it on my own to get out!” Brittany explained in a rush.

“And why can’t she help you?” Santana asked, trying to remain calm even when she could feel the fear and desperation on the other girl.

“Because she was bitten and now I think she’s dead” Brittany explained, tears very obvious in her voice.

“What? Brittany, is she moving?” Blaine asked, terrified about the implications of what Brittany was saying, as he turned around and exchanged a worried look with Sam.

“No, she’s not yet, but what if she transforms? I don’t have any weapons” Brittany answered, obviously very frightened.

“How could she not say anything and let Brittany lock herself up with her?” Kitty asked, horrified at how someone could be that selfish.

“That’s not important now!” Santana interrupted her. “We need to get her out of there!”

“But how?” Mike asked with a worried frown.

“Let’s try pushing the door. Maybe between all of us…” Sebastian offered, even though he knew it was not a good idea.

“The door is not that big, we can’t all push at the same time” Sam answered in a grave voice.

“Plus it wouldn’t help, that piece of furniture needs to be moved from the inside, the door is not heavy enough to move it” Blaine explained with a sad shake of his head.

“If we could break that door on the top she could jump over the furniture” Kitty suggested. “What do you say, Brit, do you think you could climb on it?”

“I don’t know, but I could try” she answered between sobs.

“I’m going to try and find something, an ax or a meat cleaver from the kitchen or anything from the maintenance cupboard so we can chop the door” Kitty announced.

“They are on the ground floor, it’s going to take you too long!” Sebastian tried to reason with her.

“Well, unless you’ve got some better idea, it’s the only thing that we’ve got” she complained as she started running down the stairs.

“I’ll go with her” he said, not wanting for anyone to be on his own in such a dangerous territory.

“We can’t wait, we need to find another solution” Blaine suggested, afraid that the dead girl would turn into a walker before they got Brittany out. “If I remember correctly, there is a small window on the laboratory on that wall, right?”

“I think so, but what’s the use of that?” Sam asked, already afraid that Blaine was going to come up with a dangerous idea he was not going to like. “We’re on a second floor, it’s not like we can get Brittany out through it”

“I could climb out through the window on the classroom next to it and then try to go into the laboratory through it, so I can help Brittany move that cabinet from inside” Blaine explained, already walking to the classroom next door before anyone –mainly Sam– could convince him otherwise.

“What? Are you nuts?” Sam yelled behind him, as clearly he was not going to stay quiet about it. “You will fall!”

“I won’t” Blaine answered, trying to sound completely confident for Sam’s sake. “I know I can do it”

“What the hell, Blaine? You’re injured, I’m not letting you do that” Sam said as he grabbed Blaine’s arm and tried to move him away from the window. “I will do it”

“Sam, we all know I’m the only one small enough to get through that tiny window on the laboratory” Blaine said, knowing even Sam wouldn’t be able to refute him that.

“I can do it too” Santana intervened, not sounding very convincing, but she would do anything to get Brittany out of there.

“Santana, no offense, but you’re not as nimble as I am” Blaine answered, and it broke Sam’s heart to admit he was right, and Blaine was really the only one for the job. After all, he had never seen someone as able to jump around and move like a cat like Blaine was. And he had always found that very funny until right then. “Can you honestly say you can do it?”

“Blaine…” Sam tried to stop him again when Santana didn’t answer, although he knew it was already a lost battle: Blaine would never stay still if there was a way to save a life. Especially if it was the life of a friend.

“Sam, we can’t let Brittany down…” Blaine tried to reason with him as he squeezed Sam’s shoulder comfortingly. “And we don’t have any more time to lose”

“If you manage to fall down I will kill you” Sam threatened him, not aware of how absurd it sounded until Blaine chuckled at him.

“I’ll be alright” Blaine assured him before putting a chair next to the window and climbing on it so he could reach the window.

If it wasn’t for all the blood marrying his pants, nobody would have ever said he was injured with the grace and the speed he moved. In one swift movement he was standing on the window sill, and Sam sat down on it too, his body out of the window too so he could hold on Blaine’s legs and see what was happening and offer Blaine whatever support he might need.

Sam looked at him, his heart in his throat, and then looked at what he had to do and he knew he was right: only Blaine could do that, thanks to his size and his athletic skills. But that didn’t make him feel any better. If he had to see Blaine fall down…

Blaine stopped for a second, not really knowing how to proceed. He unconsciously looked down for a second and he had to gulp at what he saw: three or four walkers looking up at him, as if waiting for him to fall. And Blaine realized that not making it to the other window was not an option, because if he failed he was doomed: if the fall didn’t kill him, the walkers would surely do.

“Blaine, is there something wrong?” Sam asked as he held onto Blaine’s legs, noticing his friend’s hesitation.

“No, it’s just… the laboratory’s window is a little further away than I expected” Blaine answered, trying not to let his fear show in his voice.

“Ok, you tried, nobody can blame you for that, now please, go back inside” Sam pleaded.

“No, Sam, I can do it” Blaine assured him, shaking his legs slightly as a sign for Sam to let go of him.

“Blaine, no, just…” Sam said, but before he could even finish the sentence Blaine had already made the dreaded jump and was hanging from the other window’s sill.

Not waiting until he would lose all his forces, Blaine used his feet to rest them on the wall and help himself rise enough to climb through the window. Sam hadn’t even realized he was not breathing as he watched his friend fight with all his forces to cover the final distance up, and when one of Blaine’s feet slipped from the wall he thought his heart was going to burst with fear, but Blaine recovered quickly enough and with one last effort he drew his body through the window and a couple of seconds later he was inside the laboratory.

“He is inside!” Sam yelled at the other two as he tried to run towards the door of the laboratory again, though his knees buckled for a second and Mike had to help him so he wouldn’t fall.

“Sam, you alright?” he asked worriedly, but Sam quickly disentangled himself from his arms.

“Yes, yes, it was just… the fright, I guess” he answered as he recovered –after all, he had just seen his best friend almost fall from a second floor just like that– and ran to the door of the laboratory.

“Blaine!” he yelled through the door. “Blaine, you alright?”

“Yes, I’m alright!” Blaine answered, even if it was pretty clear that he was panting with effort. “We’re going to try moving this thing now”

“Ok, hurry up, please” Sam nervously answered, knowing they were not out danger yet by any means with a dead body trapped there with them.

“Shit, it’s very heavy” they heard Blaine say after a minute. “How the hell did you two move this?”

“Well, there were two of us pushing it with our bodies, but pulling it is harder I guess, especially since I can’t help you with my broken arm” Brittany reasoned with him.

“What’s happening, B?” Sam impatiently asked.

“I can’t move it on my own, I’m going to empty it a bit first so it won’t be so heavy” Blaine answered, trying to feign he was very calm for Sam’s sake.

Mike, Santana and Sam waited impatiently next to the door as Blaine emptied the cabinet blocking the door, with Brittany helping as much as he could in her condition. They weren’t going as fast as Sam would have liked, and he paced nervously up and down even though he never moved too far from the door.

“Blaine, I think she moved!” Brittany suddenly yelled, getting the attention of the three people waiting outside.

“Blaine, what’s happening?” Sam asked, knocking impatiently at the door.

“She’s turning into a walker” Blaine answered, the fear in his voice belaying his apparent calm stance.

“Ok, don’t panic. Just kill it, you can do it” Sam tried to encourage him from the other side of the door, his heart racing with fear for his friends and the fact he couldn’t help them.

“Fuck, I don’t have my knife, it must have felt when I climbed through the window” Blaine exclaimed, trying very hard not to panic, as he knew Brittany was still depending on him –and he needed to keep Sam calm.

“Oh my God, Blaine!” Sam yelled, very far from the calm version of himself Blaine was trying to keep. “You need to get out of there right now!”

Santana started crying again as Sam banged on the door continually as if that could be of any help. They could hear Blaine and Brittany at the other side of the door making the biggest efforts to move the damned piece of furniture, but they weren’t fast enough and by then the girl had fully turned into a walker.

“Blaine, watch out!” Brittany yelled in warning, and when Blaine screamed a second after that, Sam’s world crumbled and he felt as if he couldn’t draw a breath nor move a muscle. His eyes filled with tears and when he regained the ability to move, he started banging on the door like a madman again, even louder and more desperately than before.

“Blaine!” he yelled, the name of the most important person in his life the only thing he could bring himself to say. “Blaine!”

Blaine screamed again –at least he was still alive– and this time his voice was followed by the sound of a blow that seemed to indicate that he was at least fighting.

“Blaine, please, what’s happening?” Sam asked, encouraged by the fact that Blaine seemed to be fighting with the walker.

Blaine didn’t answer, but after he screamed again –and this time it seemed as if it was from the effort– there was a loud dragging noise and the next time Sam banged on the door it opened slightly, but enough for him to get his hand in and help push the cabinet away.

“Mike, help me with this!” Sam begged to his friend, who immediately came to his side and joined him in the task of moving the piece of furniture until the door could open enough for the people inside to go out.

Brittany got our first, and immediately fell in Santana’s arms to melt into an embrace with her, both of them crying desperately. But just when Blaine was about to follow them, the walker, who was on the floor, grabbed Blaine’s ankle and pulled until he made him fall to the floor.

“Blaine!” Sam yelled as he watched him fall, but he was not going to stand and watch him get in danger this time, so in a quick movement he grabbed Blaine’s wrist and pulled him in the opposite direction, so strongly that the walker had to let go of him and, as soon as he was dragged outside the room, Mike closed the door behind him and trapped the walker there.

Sam let himself fall on his knees and helped Blaine to the same position before he engulfed him into the strongest embrace he could muster, almost afraid of suffocating him even if he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

“Please, tell me you weren’t bitten” Sam begged as he squeezed Blaine impossibly close to his chest, tears falling unnoticed down his cheeks as he feared the answer he was going to get.

“It didn’t bite me” Blaine immediately reassured him, his fingers getting lost between the locks of blond hair in the back of Sam’s hair in a comforting gesture. “It didn’t bite me, Sam”

“Are you sure?” Sam asked, breaking the embrace to cup Blaine’s cheeks into his hands, wanting to read his eyes to make sure he was telling the truth.

“Yes, I’m sure” Blaine again tried to reassure him, covering Sam’s hands with his own.

“But when you screamed…”

“I hit its head on the wall and it fell, but it was not enough and it grabbed my leg from the floor and got me in my wound” Blaine explained, wincing slightly as he tried to move his leg, as being on his knees was only making the pain worse. “And then it hurt again when I tried to kick its head. I’m sorry I scared you”

“I’m just glad you’re okay” Sam answered as he quickly erased the tears from his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and helped Blaine get up, having noticed how being on that position was hurting him. “But don’t ever put a stunt like that again or I’ll kill you myself”

“Alright” Blaine answered, even managing a little smile for his friend.

“Thank you, Blaine” Brittany said between sobs as she embraced Blaine once he was on his feet and clung desperately to him.

“Don’t mention it” Blaine tried to dismiss it, as usual not comfortable with the attention, especially when he knew he hadn’t been able to save all the people he felt had been depending on him.

“Guys, we should get going” Mike suggested, feeling bad for rushing them but knowing they were not safe there.

“No” Blaine immediately opposed. “We haven’t checked this floor yet. There could still be survivors”

“But Blaine…” Mike tried to change his mind, but Sam interrupted him.

“Don’t bother” he warned him, shaking his head in frustration at his best friend’s stubbornness, knowing Blaine wasn’t going to leave the place until he was sure there was no one else inside. “Let’s just do it and then we’ll get the hell out of here”

“Ok, but let’s be careful” Mike insisted. “It looks like there were more of them in this floor, and I can hear their hissing somewhere”

They continued with the same strategy they had used on the other two floors after Sam and Santana gave Blaine and Brittany their knives, respectively –they had their guns, after all–, so none of them would be left completely defenseless. They were not finding any more survivors, which clearly was bringing their morale down, but they had to fight a few walkers along the way.

At the end of the corridor there was only the library left to check. Sam was so glad to finish their mission that he had a smile on his face when he crossed the threshold of the open door. But that smile froze at the image in front of them: the library was infested with walkers, there was blood all around the place, and there were three different piles of them, which meant they were probably eating some students they had managed to catch. At least, fortunately, they didn’t seem to be alive anymore, as they couldn’t hear a sound from them.

They all took their hands to their faces to muffle any possible sound elicited by the terror they were experiencing. And with a move of his head, Sam signaled to the door again, telling the others to just turn around and leave the place.

All of them obeyed and silently got out from the library, but before Sam closed the door behind him, he noticed some of the walkers had seen them and were starting to move.

“We need to get out of here now!” he urgently said once outside the library. “I’m sure they’ll manage to open the door very soon, run!”

No one felt the need to argue at that, and all of them started running down the corridor towards the stairs, knowing there wasn’t anything else they could do now, and that everybody that had gotten inside was already out or dead. Now it was up to them to make sure they could survive too.

Blaine’s injury had become very painful since the fight with that walker in the library, which meant he could hardly run and he was inadvertently being left behind at each step. He never complained, not wanting the others to be exposed to danger for longer than strictly necessary, but of course Sam noticed: as soon as he saw that Blaine was not running in front of him, he looked back and was appalled to see him a few feet behind them, his face drenched with sweat at the enormous effort he was making to follow them.

“Blaine, come on” Sam encouragingly said as he stopped running, making his way back until he could meet his friend again to help him, his heart breaking at all the pain, both physical and emotional, that he could read in his eyes.

But before Blaine could say anything, someone appeared behind Sam. The blond saw it from the corner of his eye, but when he turned around to face whatever that was, he was relieved to see a McKinley cheerio uniform that told him it could only be one of his former classmates.

“Shit, girl, you scared the life out of me” Sam said as he looked into her face and discovered it was that girl that had been on the cheerio team with Blaine. Bree, was it?

“Sam, watch out!” Blaine yelled as Bree caught Sam unawares and jumped on him until he made him fall.

Only that it wasn’t Bree. At least it wasn’t anymore. Blaine felt tears forming in his eyes as he realized the girl had died and already transformed into a walker, like the girl in the laboratory and who knew how many more. He had failed: she had only been a girl in panic and he hadn’t been able to protect her.

But he didn’t get himself fall into despair, at least not yet, because she was trying to bite Sam, and the latter had lost his weapon in the fall. So Blaine jumped from his place and with a quick and strong push to her side he was able to get her away from Sam, so strongly that it might have been able to break her neck with the brusque movement. But he knew that was not enough, so from his place on his knees he grabbed the knife Sam had given him and crawled to her, he raised his hand as high as he could, the knife strongly held into his fist, and let his arm fall until the weapon embedded itself with force into her skull. And then all struggle ceased.

As the first time he killed a walker, Blaine looked down at the corpse and marveled at how it didn’t look like a monster anymore. Just as the body of a person who had died in terrible circumstances. And this was not any body: this one belonged to a classmate, to a girl that had been in the cheerio team with him, to someone who had been close to a friend. And she was dead. And he had been the one to finish her.

He felt as if the world was crumbling on him, as if everything had gone darker all of a sudden, and the room began to spin around him as he found himself unable to breathe. He just let go of the knife as if suddenly it burned and slowly brought his hands to his head as if he wanted to hide behind them forever.

He didn’t know how much time passed as he tried to draw a breath, but suddenly Sam was kneeling in front of him, one hand on his shoulder as the other one tried to uncover Blaine’s face, and he seemed to be talking even if Blaine couldn’t make any sense out of his words.

“B? B!” Sam tried to get his attention, and he looked very worried.

“Sam” Blaine whispered as his voice didn’t seem to work, but at least he was breathing now.

“Are you with me?” Sam asked as he rested his hands on Blaine’s shoulders and gently shook him to get him out of his shock.

“Yeah” he answered after what felt like a whole minute, shaking his head himself as he tried to reconnect with reality and make that worried frown on Sam’s face disappear.

“We need to get out of here” Sam urged him, trying to avoid saying what they both knew: that there weren’t any more people they could help, and that they would be the next victims if they didn’t run.

Sam stood up and offered his hand to Blaine, who still needed a second to comprehend what he was being said. But when he finally took Sam’s hand and tried to move his injured leg, a stab of pain ran all along it and he whimpered pitifully.

“B, what’s wrong?” Sam asked at the distress in his friend’s face and voice, while a noise at the end of the corridor got his attention and he discovered the walkers inside the library were managing to open the door.

“It hurts too much” Blaine answered with a sob, as he seemed to have lost all the fight in him. “I can’t go on”

“The hell you can’t” Sam answered angrily as he let go of his hand to grab him around the waist and pull him upright in one swift movement in spite of his resistance. “If you thought for a second I was going to leave you here…”

Blaine didn’t want to run anymore, he felt as if he nothing mattered anymore and any movement he made meant too big an effort. And yet he started moving, he managed to put one foot in front of the other and let Sam guide him down the stairs as fast as they could. Because there was no way Sam was going to leave without him, he knew that much, and he was not going to let those monsters get Sam if there was a way for him to stop it.

There were tears in Blaine’s eyes when they took the last flight of stairs from the effort and the pain, and yet he didn’t complain, not wanting to burden Sam with any more worries. But he felt his strength diminishing with every step, and he wondered if he would be able to make it outside as much as he wanted, or Sam would have to see him fail.

His answer came in the form of Kitty and Sebastian coming back to meet them. They were carrying that cleaver they had been looking for, though it wasn’t necessary anymore.

“Blaine!” Sebastian exclaimed as he saw Sam practically dragging him the last of the steps. “What’s wrong?”

“Help me with him, Sebastian” Sam begged the warbler, though there was no need for that as Sebastian was already throwing Blaine’s free arm around his own shoulders and supporting half of his weight.

“Where’s Brittany?” Kitty asked even if she started running next to the trio.

“Blaine got her out” Sam answered proudly. “They are already out, and we need to hurry because there is a whole army of walkers coming down behind us”

With Sebastian’s help, they managed to make a much better time, as he and Sam were practically carrying Blaine between them. They ran the rest of the corridor and were out in what seemed like an instant, and Kitty closed the door behind them, hoping that one, much stronger and more secure that the one on the library, would hold them in for a bit longer.

There was still a long way towards the sports hall where the others were waiting for him, and Sam and Sebastian didn’t hesitate to make a run towards it, feeling a great need of being able to stop and feel safe for a while.

“Wait, the others…” Blaine said as they passed by the area in which he had told the ones who had held the fence with him they would reunite later.

“Let’s worry about you for a second, ok?” Sam tried to divert his attention as they continued running, as his main priority right now was to make sure Blaine would be safe and able to rest.

“No, but I told them we would meet again right there” Blaine insisted, trying to disentangle himself from the other two, obviously to no avail thanks to his increasing weakness.

“I’ll get them myself as soon as you’re safe” Sam promised, as he would do anything to make sure Blaine was alright and he was not going to try any other stunts like the ones he had done that day.

**********

It was not much later than Blaine was sitting on a mat in the sports hall. Most of the survivors were already there, and they had made a few controlled bonfires in hopes of warming up the enormous place a little. Everyone seemed to have a task to do except for him –of course no one dared to ask anything out of the exhausted and injured guy– and after Artie insisted to check his leg, he had been left on his own to sit next to one of the fires, waiting impatiently for Sam, Sebastian and Puck to come back after going out again to collect their friends from the place Blaine had indicated.

He was feeling numb, and not just physically. They had lost a lot of people that day and, even if most of them weren’t real friend, they were still classmates and familiar faces who now were gone. And he felt responsible for those deaths, as he hadn’t been able to stop them from happening. Wasn’t he thinking he knew better only a few hours before? Wasn’t he complaining that those guys weren’t being careful enough? What had he done better than them? Why the hell had he thought he was better than them?

He felt his chest lessen the pressure that was keeping him from breathing when he heard Marley opening the door and Sam and the rest of his friends made their way into the sports hall. At least no one else had died, Blaine thought as he rested the side of his face on the knee he had raised to his chest –as his injured leg lied unmoving on the floor– and wished he could at least close his eyes and sleep for a while, so he could escape from that awful reality, if only for a little while.

“Hey” Sam said as he came to sit next to his friend a couple of minutes later, gently patting his good leg to get his attention.

“Hey” Blaine answered as he lifted his face from his knee if only because of his impeccable manners, as the only thing he really wanted was to be left alone to wallow in his own misery.

“You should take care of that leg” Sam reminded him with a compassionate smile as he pointed at the leg that Blaine kept unmoving and stretched in front of him, as if only the slightest move would cause him a great pain.

“Artie already helped me clean it up while you were out” Blaine answered with a neutral tone, though Sam knew Artie had probably had to force him to do that.

“May I…?” Sam hesitantly asked, knowing how much Blaine hated to be reminded of his weaknesses, even if they were in the form of injuries, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

Blaine sighed, knowing Sam would never rest easy unless he was able to see for himself how his leg was faring, so he nodded almost imperceptibly and waited until Sam knelt at his side and very carefully lifted the leg of his pants –though it still hurt enough to make Blaine wince.

“I’m sorry, B” Sam immediately apologized.

“It’s okay”

But it was not okay. Sam could have cried at how painful Blaine’s leg looked now that he had the chance to have a good look at it. No wonder Blaine had felt like throwing in the towel just a while ago. How he had been able to do everything that he had done that day was beyond him.

“Look how swollen your leg is” Sam commented, his frustration taking once again the form of anger, a feeling much easier to manage for him than pain or sorrow. “I thought I told you to stay out of that leg”

“Oh, I’m sorry, next time I’ll just sit down and watch how the rest of you are eaten alive” Blaine answered sarcastically before he could stop himself, feeling just as frustrated and angry as his friend.

“I’m sorry, B” Sam lamented, immediately repentant as he moved again to sit next to his friend and threw a comforting arm around his shoulders. “That was stupid of me to say. I just… I hate to see you in pain”

“I know. I’m sorry too” Blaine answered as he, for once, let his guard down and rested his head in Sam’s shoulder, desperate for physical contact and a comfort he knew only Sam could provide.

“When the fence fell and you weren’t there I thought…” Sam tried to explain, but his voice faded out before he could finish his sentence.

“I know” Blaine repeated, perfectly understanding what Sam meant by the intensity of his grip around him.

But it was not enough. Blaine’s heart was breaking, it felt too heavy with despair to work normally and he once again felt as if he couldn’t breathe. He turned to his best friend, the only person in the world he was going to let him see like that, and wrapped his arms around his neck so strongly that he was afraid he was going to hurt him, even if he couldn’t bring himself to stop. And when Sam’s arms closed around his own torso just as strongly, suddenly it was too much and he let his sorrow flow through bitter tears that he tried to hide on the crook of Sam’s neck. But he remained silent, without not a single sob or sound that revealed his inner turmoil, still stubborn that no one knew how broken he felt.

“Schhh” Sam shushed him, knowing. He always knew. But suddenly Blaine didn’t care that he knew. Sam could know everything about him, good or bad, and Blaine wouldn’t care. “We are okay, Blaine. We made it”

“I failed, Sam” Blaine whispered in Sam’s ear, instantly bringing tears to his eyes too at the pain his soft voice emanated, even if it remained stoic.

“What?” Sam asked as he broke the embrace and held Blaine at arm’s length, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I couldn’t save them” Blaine answered as he furiously wiped the tears that kept spilling unwillingly from his eyes.

“Blaine, you saved all of our lives!” Sam tried to make him understand, even shaking Blaine’s frame slightly as if he was trying to physically get that idea out from his head.

“I killed Bree” Blaine answered so softly that Sam had to strain to hear it.

Letting his breath out slowly as he suddenly understood, Sam took Blaine into his arms again and held him as close to his chest as he could manage, rocking their bodies in unison as his hand moved to the back of Blaine’s head on its own accord to bury itself in his soft curls and hold it in place against his shoulder. He desperately tried to find the right words to say to his devastated friend, but what do you say to someone that had been through something like that? Because yeah, okay, Blaine had had to kill a lot of walkers before, all of them had. But it was the first time he knew the person that walker had been. And, on top of that, he felt responsible for her death in the first place.

“That wasn’t Bree anymore, B” Sam finally said as he rubbed Blaine’s back in comforting patterns, knowing it was the only thing he could do to try and make him feel better.

“Then why do I feel so bad?” Blaine asked with a broken voice even if he still didn’t let himself break down, and Sam admired him even more for the fact that in a time like that, with his heart as broken as it was, he would still remain strong for the sake of the others, even if Sam knew better.

“Because you have the biggest heart ever, and not even this hell we’re living is going to change that” Sam honestly answered as he rested a long kiss to Blaine’s temple, hoping he’d understand that he was there for him.

“I don’t know how long I can keep doing this, Sam” Blaine confessed, his voice completely void of his usual determination and strength, in a way that Sam needed a couple of seconds to breathe and keep any tears at bay before breaking the embrace and facing him again.

“Don’t give up, Blaine” Sam begged him, cupping his face in his hands again while joining their foreheads together, knowing perfectly well what he needed to say to make Blaine react. “I can’t do this without you. We need to do it together”

Sam saw Blaine closing his eyes for a second, as he tried to put his thoughts and feelings in order, and he knew his words had done their work: if Blaine couldn’t find it in him to keep fighting for himself, he would do it for Sam. Maybe it had been a dirty trick, but Sam would take anything that would erase the desolation he had just seen in Blaine’s eyes.

“Come here, you’re shivering” Sam said as he rearranged himself until he was side by side with Blaine again and put his arm around his shoulders to bring him to his side, just before his hand lovingly rubbed on Blaine’s bicep to keep him warm.

Then he picked the blanket that had been lying forgotten on Blaine’s legs and threw it around both their bodies, more as an excuse for them to keep in their embrace than anything else –though he very well knew he didn’t need any excuses–. And his heart warmed more than any blanket could have managed when Blaine sighed and let his head fall on Sam’s shoulder.

“Thank you, Sammy” Blaine said, his voice still soft but with a tiny hint of a strength that hadn’t been there just a second ago.

“Anytime, buddy” Sam answered with a smile as he rested his own head on top of Blaine’s.

They remained in silence for a while, just like that, the only movement in them Sam’s hand still stroking Blaine’s arm comfortingly. Just the reassurance that they were there for each other under any circumstance was enough to the point they didn’t even need words to communicate.

“Boys?” a soft voice got them out of their reverie, and both of them lifted their heads to look at Santana, though they made no move to separate.

“Hey, Santana” Sam answered, immediately preparing himself to attack if she dared to say even the slightest bad thing about Blaine.

“I… I wanted to talk to you both” Santana said in a conciliatory tone. “Well, mostly you, Blaine”

“You don’t have to say it, Santana” Blaine answered in a defeated tone she didn’t expect, and he didn’t even lower his gaze from the fire to look at her, almost as if he was ashamed.

“Say what?” she asked in confusion.

“That you were right” Blaine continued in the same dull tone that pained Sam so much. “That I have no idea what I’m doing”

“No, Blaine, we…” Santana interrupted herself with a sigh, trying to find the right words to apologize for her hurtful words from before. “It’s the complete opposite. All the people here right now are alive thanks to you”

“But I couldn’t save the others” Blaine insisted, not ready yet to forgive himself even when Sam begged him to with a tender squeeze to his shoulder.

“Look, Blaine, I don’t want to sound mean but… the others were as stupid as I was this afternoon” she explained as she knelt down in front of Blaine to be at his eye level. “They chose to do the wrong thing, and yet you tried to help them. Hell, you saved some of them”

“We all did” Blaine answered, looking proudly at Sam, who reciprocated with a wide smile.

“Because you’ve turned us into a team” she tried to reason with him, and Sam could have cried with relief at the perfect argument she was giving his friend. “We are lucky to have you. Both of you”

“Thank you, Santana” Blaine said, smiling for the first time in what felt like ages, as he offered his hand to the girl as a peace offer.

“No, thank you, Blaine” she answered as he took his hand and squeezed it between both of his. “I’m sorry about what I said before. You obviously knew what you were talking about”

“Not that much, I’m still trying to figure out a lot of stuff” he answered with a chuckle, although both Sam and himself knew he was only half joking, and that he wasn’t always that confident and determined as he seemed.

“Hey, guys!” Santana yelled, suddenly standing and turning up towards the others. “Are you coming or what? You don’t expect Blaine to go all the way down there with his injured leg, do you?”

Both Blaine and Sam looked at each other and chuckled at Santana’s antics as all their friends started making their way to them to sit around the fire, making a big circle where everybody was accepted and comforted by the others’ presence.

Sebastian sat at Blaine’s other side and squeezed his knee as he smiled at him, which Blaine quickly reciprocated. Puck was not as gentle as he slapped Sam’s back before sitting at his side, but the blond still knew it was his way of showing affection, so he smiled at him.

After all the tragedy and the sorrow from just a couple of hours before, Blaine thought it was nice and comforting to be surrounded by people who cared about him, by friends who trusted him and appreciated his efforts to keep them safe. Soon the jokes and the silliness found their way amongst the group as a way to compensate their grief, and even if Blaine didn’t participate in them, he found himself smiling and even chuckling every now and then. And just by being there, amongst friends and with Sam’s warm arms around him –and he could see how Sam would keep checking on him to see any signs of discomfort of grieve on his face every few minutes, even if he thought he couldn’t see it–, he knew he was strong enough to beat anything. And he intended to do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, no cliffhanger this time! Take a deep breath before the next one!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the delay, but it's been a hard week for me and I couldn't bring myself to get any writing done... This chapter wasn't supposed to end here, but it just kept getting longer and longer so I had to divide it into two. Hope you like it!

Blaine woke up in the middle of the night because of the cold. He knew that was going to happen before he fell asleep: the sports hall was a big place and it wouldn’t be so long until all the bonfires they had created would die down. He turned on his side, so he could curl around himself, and ended up facing Sam, who was lying on his side too next to him, apparently deeply asleep. Blaine almost blushed when he realized he had stolen practically all the blanket they were supposed to be sharing, as he usually did. Though fortunately Sam didn’t seem to be that cold, at least he wasn’t shivering as he was. That was probably why Sam always made fun of him and of how sensible he was to the cold, he thought when a particular strong shiver ran all along his body.

Somehow Sam seemed to notice his state –Sam always noticed, even when he was deeply asleep– and he threw an arm around Blaine’s to bring him to him, protective and warm like a bear, until Blaine ended up squished to Sam’s chest. Well, he couldn’t deny he was warmer that way, if only by the blush undoubtedly climbing to his cheeks. Especially when he realized Sam and he had slept in each other’s arms, one way or another, every night since Sam woke up from his coma. And he didn’t think there was anything he liked more.

As he lay there, strongly held against Sam’s firm and broad chest, with the blond’s warm arms holding him tightly, he allowed himself a moment to enjoy it, so he closed his eyes and sighed happily, even more so when Sam rested his head on top of his.

**********

The next time he woke up, a soft lightning was starting to find its way through the small windows at the top of the walls. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he was still tightly wrapped in Sam’s arms, which had efficiently kept him from getting cold again and had made him feel safe enough for him to sleep like a baby. He couldn’t help but to smile, even if he knew he shouldn’t be enjoying it so much. This massive crush –he didn’t even want to admit it could be more than a crush– he had on Sam was getting out of control. And it was complicated enough before the apocalypse happened, so now…

He felt ridiculous for even thinking about it when their only objective right now should be surviving. But he couldn’t help it. He and Sam had been close, really close, for some time now, but now… Sometimes they acted almost as if they were a couple, right? It was not him imagining things, it was really happening.

He wasn’t an idiot, though: he knew it was the circumstances that had driven them to the position they were now, and that none of them could understand life without the other anymore, but… Blaine knew there was no room for more than that in their relationship, as much as he wanted. And it was definitely not the right time to be even thinking about it.

With a sad but resigned sigh, he extricated carefully from Sam’s embrace –there was no need for him to wake up so early… and frankly, Blaine didn’t want to see the embarrassment or repentance in Sam’s face if he woke up and he saw he had been embracing Blaine like that in his sleep– and sat up. He looked around them and noticed everybody was still sleeping, still in the circle they had made the night before around the fire so they wouldn’t leave him alone nor he would have to move with his injured leg. For a moment, Blaine felt grateful for them and for the fact that Sam’s welfare didn’t depend solely on his own and they were more secure around so many people, who happened to care about them. They only needed to learn a bit more about how to take care of themselves –of which Blaine would take care of as soon as possible–, and maybe then he would feel safe enough to take a break once in a while.

With a rush of affection for his friends, he thought it would be nice to do something for them, like maybe starting a fire again, as it was still pretty cold. But as soon as he moved an inch to stand up, a hand closed unexpectedly around his wrist and a hoarse voice made him jump out of his skin.

“Don’t you even dare to start walking on that leg” Sam whispered in an authoritarian tone even if he didn’t open his eyes.

“Shit, Sam, you scared me” Blaine answered with an embarrassed chuckle as he drew a hand to his heart, as if willing it to go back to its normal pace.

“You thought I was asleep and you were going to go your way, right?” Sam admonished him, but Blaine smiled at the obvious hint of joking in his voice.

“Pretty much, yeah” he cockily answered, widening his smile when Sam finally opened his eyes and tried to stare sternly at him.

“Besides it’s still so early! You should get some more sleep. Come here” Sam said as he put his arm around Blaine’s waist in a swift, unexpected movement and pulled until he made him lie down on his back next to him again.

Blaine tried not to blush too much at Sam’s actions –though fortunately the latter had already closed his eyes again– and especially at the fact that Sam’s arm had stayed around Blaine’s waist, even repositioning more comfortably until the tip of his fingers were brushing Blaine’s hip in a light grip. So maybe it wasn’t the possessive strong embrace from a while before, but at least he could be sure that this one was not accidental. Even if he knew it didn’t have to mean more that Sam being his usual cuddly and affectionate self.

“Besides I’m getting too used to sleep with you, I don’t think I can sleep anymore if you don’t cuddle with me” Sam whispered, dangerously close to his ear, with a hint of mischievousness in his voice. “You stole the blanket again, by the way”

“Sorry” Blaine embarrassedly apologized as he repositioned the blanket again so it was covering both of them, making extra sure it covered Sam’s shoulder so he would be comfortable.

“It’s okay” Sam answered with a fond smile and he shuffled even closer to Blaine to the point he was almost touching his shoulder with his face, and for a second Blaine thought he was going to rest a kiss there. Unfortunately he didn’t. “Now shush, I want to get some more sleep”

“And so do the rest of us, lovebirds, shut the fuck up once and for all!” Puck protested from Sam’s other side, trying to sound angry even if he failed miserably and Sam ended up laughing at him.

“What’s up, Puckerman? Jealous I’m not cuddling with you?” Sam joked, and Blaine marveled at how Sam was not embarrassed at all at having been caught in a position and a conversation that would have been embarrassing for most of the guys Blaine knew, or at the fact that Puck had just called them _lovebirds_.

“You wish” Puck joked back as he curled around himself to get more comfortable. “Besides, I would never do that to my good friend Blaine”

“Didn’t you two want to sleep?” Blaine interrupted more annoyed that he had meant, blushing furiously at Puck’s hint that he would be jealous if Sam was cuddling with Puck instead of him –even if he knew Puck was only joking and didn’t mean anything with it.

“Shit, he’s strict” Puck complained, making Sam chuckle.

“That he is. You cannot even imagine how many times he’s…” Sam started.

“Shut up!” Blaine hissed at them, desperate to finish that conversation.

“Sorry” Puck apologized guiltily, as if he had been caught in the middle of a prank.

“You just made Puck shut up. You’re amazing” Sam said with a chuckle.

“You shut up too” Blaine answered, though he couldn’t keep a small smile out of his lips.

“Sorry” Sam replied with another smile before finally nuzzling Blaine’s shoulder and falling asleep again just like that.

**********

Amazingly enough, Blaine had been able to fall asleep again under Sam’s arm, feeling protected and calm for the first time since everything started. Unfortunately that wouldn’t last long, and when everybody started waking up a couple of hours later, the mood fell down drastically as they remembered everything that had happened the day before.

“So…” Mike started once more or less everybody was awake and sitting up, hoping to relieve Blaine from some of the pressure of having to lead them on their survival, as he could already feel the smaller boy dying to start making a plan but holding himself because he didn’t want to impose himself. “I think we should start thinking about what we’re going to do from now on”

“Yeah, I guess we can’t stay here” Marley lamented as Ryder threw a comforting arm around her shoulders. “We don’t have any supplies here”

“Maybe we can go back to the other building and make sure there are no walkers left?” Unique suggested with little conviction.

“I don’t think we can do that” Blaine hesitantly intervened when he couldn’t resist it any longer, and Sam rested a hand on his back, between his shoulder blades, to let him know he would support anything he said. “There might not be any walkers right now, but more can come. It’s not safe, too many exits and now that the fence is broken…”

“Plus it’s not a nice place anymore” Sam finished for him, remembering about all the blood splattered on the floor and the walls. They couldn’t possibly live there knowing it belonged to their classmates.

“Then what are we going to do?” Santana asked, turning to Blaine trustingly and with an apologetic look that Blaine immediately reciprocated in the form of a smile.

“Here’s what I think” Blaine began, his confidence and resolution coming back in an instant at the trust he could now see in his friends, that confidence Sam was so proud of that he had to put his arm around Blaine’s shoulders as his friend spoke. “We need to find somewhere where we can be sure we’re safe, and where we can find supplies or easily store them when we run out of them and we need to go looking for them”

“As in…?” Puck asked, not knowing where Blaine’s mind was going.

“I was thinking… maybe the prison? There can’t be anything more secure than a prison, right? And we’ll have beds for everyone and even a protected playground so we don’t have to remain indoors all the time”

“That’s a clever idea” Sebastian commented, smiling proudly at his friend.

“And if no one has gone there yet, I bet they will have a lot of supplies” Trent added with a hopeful smile.

“And how are we going to get there?” Artie asked, hating to be the devil’s advocate. “The one in Lima is at the other end of the city, and Blaine and Brittany are injured…”

“Brittany has a broken arm, so she can walk” Blaine said, looking at Brittany for confirmation, which she immediately nodded. “And I… I will manage”

“I’ll help you” Sam immediately added, squeezing Blaine to his side until he elicited a grateful smile from his friend.

“What about one of the school buses? Anyone knows if they still work?” Sebastian suggested, hating the idea of Blaine covering all that distance with his injured leg.

“No, when all of this started a lot of people tried to escape with the buses” Ryder explained. “There was one left, but I don’t know if you noticed how yesterday a couple of guys took it when the fence broke and ran”

“They did what?” Puck answered, obviously indignant. “Nothing better than an apocalypse to get the best out of people, right?”

“Well, let’s not lose any time lamenting on what we don’t have” Blaine suggested, always the practical one. “We need to go back to the school building to get whatever we think we might need and then we need to leave as soon as possible so we can make it there before dark. After all, we’ll need to make sure it’s safe before we can make ourselves comfortable”

“Ok, so let’s get started getting all we need ready” Mike encouraged them and everybody stood up to follow his instructions.

“Not you, Nightbird” Blaine smiled at the nickname even though Sam was pushing him down with a hand to his shoulder. “I’m going to have a look at your wound and change your bandage first”

“Sam, my wound is alright” Blaine tried to protest, but Sam was already pulling the leg of his pants up to check on it.

“Great, so let’s keep it that way, shall we?” he said with a smile as Blaine sighed in surrender.

“As if you were giving me any options…” Blaine joked, trying not to wince as Sam took the bandage from his injured leg.

“That’s right, I’m not” Sam answered, keeping the light joking in hopes of distracting Blaine from his pain before turning serious again. “Are you going to be able to walk that far?”

“Yes” Blaine answered with no trace of hesitation, glad when Sam nodded approvingly at him.

“Ok then, I’m going to bandage it more strongly so you can walk better on your more than probable sprain, ok?” Sam said as he started doing what he had said.

“Ok” Blaine answered with a grateful smile.

It didn’t take Sam too long to have Blaine’s leg tightly bandaged again, and then he carefully slid the leg of his pant back in position to cover it.

“I need to get something from the school” Sam announced. “I’ll be right back”

“I’ll go with you” Blaine immediately offered, not ready yet to lose sight of Sam while he was in the open –and in possible danger– but Sam once again pushed him down so he couldn’t get up.

“No way” he immediately opposed, pointing a finger at Blaine’s face to make more of an impression. “You will be a good boy now and rest here until exactly the moment we leave. Did I make myself clear?”

“But…” Blaine tried to protest. What was so important that the others couldn’t take and he had to get himself?

“Did I make myself clear?” Sam insisted with a stern gaze.

“Yes” Blaine was forced to surrender with an adorable pout that elicited a chuckle from his friend.

“I’m glad. Artie, make sure he does as he’s told” Sam said to the other boy, that had been looking quizzically at them during the whole exchange.

“I will” he answered, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

“Hey, I just told you I would, don’t you trust me?” Blaine protested at Sam’s retreating back.

“No!” Sam yelled without even turning back, making the other two laugh.

“Be careful” Blaine warned him before he was out, turning serious all of a sudden to the point Sam stopped for a moment and turned to him again.

“I’ll be okay” Sam promised with a smile and a wink that only reassured Blaine slightly.

“So now that Sam isn’t here, are you going to be honest?” Artie asked, suddenly looking pointedly at the other boy.

“What?” Blaine asked, not sure what Artie meant with that.

“How is your leg really?”

“It’s alright, you heard me” Blaine answered quickly, feigning to be surprised about Artie’s question.

“I heard you trying to reassure your very worried best friend” Artie reasoned with him. “Now I want to hear the truth”

“It… hurts” Blaine admitted, knowing he didn’t need to say exactly how much for Artie to understand.

“That’s what I was fearing” Artie answered with a sad sigh. “Do you really think you can do it?”

“It’s not like we have another option” Blaine answered with a sad smile. “Even the car we used the other night is not an option anymore, it became totally useless when it received a lot of the shots meant for the walkers during the attack”

“Maybe we can manage to make a stretcher somehow” Artie suggested, even if he perfectly knew the answer he was going to get.

“No, Artie, no way I’m letting any of the guys carry me all around”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind, they could take turns…”

“Artie, please, don’t say anything to them” Blaine begged, knowing that if Artie suggested it in front of them they would think it was a good idea and they would never let it go until he agreed –which he didn’t have any intention to do–. “We might have to run and defend ourselves, a stretcher is completely impossible. I can deal with it and I don’t want to be a burden in a situation like this, it’s bad enough as it is. Promise me you won’t say anything”

“Alright” Artie surrendered, knowing how much Blaine hated for everyone to fuss over him, especially when he was clearly trying to look after everybody. “I won’t say anything about the stretcher or about how much you’re really hurting, but only if you promise to stop and say it if it becomes too unbearable”

“Artie…” Blaine tried to protest, but his friend had relented enough.

“Take it or leave it” Artie interrupted, leaving no room for argument.

“Why do you all treat me like a little kid?” Blaine protested, bur Artie was relieved he was not really angry when a little smile broke in the corners of his mouth.

“Maybe it’s because you are acting like one” he gently admonished him. “Or because how small you are”

“You are smaller than I am!” Blaine practically shouted even if he couldn’t stop himself from bursting into laughing.

“Maybe, but you can’t really tell with my chair” Artie joked, as he moved his chair towards where Blaine was sitting and rested his hand on his shoulder. “We just want you to be alright. And not just because we so obviously need you”

“Thanks, Artie” Blaine gratefully answered.

**********

It didn’t take the others too long to pack everything they thought they might need. Puck’s ability to open lockers proved to be very useful, as there they found a lot of things they could possibly use –like food, pieces of clothes and other personal stuff– plus backpacks to carry all the stuff.

Curiously enough, no one thought to bring Blaine a bag to carry –and for once he didn’t protest, as he knew they only had his best interest at heart– and he only had to concentrate on walking the long distance that was separating them from the Allen Correctional Institution with a leg that hurt like the devil on every step he took. Of course Sam offered for him to lean on him as much as he needed, but Blaine gratefully refused for the time being, as he knew he might need help later on and he intended to postpone it as much as possible.

“Guys, we need to be careful, stay together and as close as possible to each other” Blaine warned them as they finally left the school area and started walking down the road. “Nobody can stray from the group without saying anything, ok?”

“Ok” Ryder answered as he and the others closed around each other to be more effective in case they needed to defend themselves, making a circle around Blaine, Artie and Brittany as they were the ones less likely to be able to defend themselves.

The fear and the anxiousness to arrive as soon as possible was quite obvious amongst the youngsters, as for a good while nobody said a word and they kept walking as fast as their feet would carry them without actually running.

After a while, though, they started to relax –even if they kept extremely alert, just in case– and soft conversations started between them.

Blaine wasn’t aware about any of that, though. He had to use all his strength to keep taking a step after another with that pain that only kept intensifying every time he rested his weight on that leg. He was aware of Artie’s eyes fixed worriedly at him so he avoided his gaze and tried to increase the distance between them. Though that only brought him closer to Sam, who immediately noticed how his limp seemed to be getting worse.

“You alright?” Sam asked, and his worry only increased when he noticed the sweat on Blaine’s brow even if it wasn’t warm at all.

“Uh-huh” Blaine answered while nodding his head, not daring to use his voice in fear it would betray him.

“Why don’t you put your arm around my shoulders and lean into me?” Sam suggested, as he could see how much Blaine was pretending.

“No need for that” Blaine said even if a wince escaped his lips as soon as he unclenched his lips to speak.

“Blaine…” Sam warned him.

“Alright” Blaine surrendered with a sigh, preferring to obey and let Sam hold part of his weight than fighting him and risking for him to get any other ideas, like picking him up in his arms or anything like that.

Sam didn’t dare to show his triumph when Blaine put his arm around his shoulders and lent into him, afraid that the shorter boy would change his mind if he so much as mentioned he had won. His hand grabbed Blaine’s wrist to make sure he wouldn’t remove the arm from him as his other hand curled around Blaine’s waist to help him more efficiently. And even if Blaine would never admit it, it really helped.

Sebastian looked at them from behind and couldn’t help but to worry about his friend. How much he could go on like that? And why the hell did he have to be so stubborn? It would be so easy for any them to help him like Sam was doing, or even carrying him if it came to that… But he couldn’t say he didn’t understand him: apart from the fact that he knew Blaine absolutely hated being seen as weak –his small size and all the bullying he had been victim of had made him think he needed to be stronger than the rest–, he also knew how Blaine felt responsible for everyone’s lives and how he still felt guilty about the people they had lost only the day before. The last thing he wanted was for the others to see him as anything else than invincible, if he was supposed to lead them and be trusted to do that. And even if Sebastian didn’t think anyone was going to think less of him because he was injured, he could still understand Blaine’s reasoning.

And there was something else that hadn’t been sitting well with Sebastian for two days now and that didn’t have anything to do with Blaine, but with Kitty. He felt kind of bad about their fight in the car, even if the gun he had held to him had really angered him. But that thing she had said… It wouldn’t probably hurt to talk about it, so he resolutely made his way to Kitty. After all, he thought it was crucial to keep a civil relationship with everyone in a time like that.

“Hey” he said, trying to sound friendly enough so the girl wouldn’t run from him.

“Hey” she answered, confident but clearly surprised.

“I just… I thought this would be as good a moment as any to bury the hatchet between us” he offered.

“I don’t need you to apologize, Smythe” she answered, still not as friendly as Sebastian would have liked.

“I wasn’t doing it. Who do you think I am?” he dared to joke, and he was relieved when she couldn’t help a small smile.

“Oh, alright, of course you weren’t” she joked back.

“So no hard feelings?” Sebastian asked, offering his hand to the girl.

“No hard feelings” she answered, more warmly this time, while she took his hand and shook it for a second. “After all, everything you were saying was true”

“Listen, you said something about losing people and not to biters…” Sebastian tentatively asked, and he almost regretted it when a shadow of grief immediately crossed Kitty’s face.

“Yeah” she answered, not offering more explanations.

“Do you want to talk about it…?” Sebastian offered, feeling that maybe the girl just needed to let it all out.

“My parents were actually able to come to the school to get me before they evacuated the city” she started, so absently that it almost looked as if she was just talking to herself. “But while they were waiting for me, some people pointed a gun at them and told them to get out of the car so they could take it. And when they refused, they shot them and took the car. Just like that”

“And you saw it?” Sebastian asked before he could stop himself, completely horrified at what he was hearing.

She nodded, apparently coming back from her reverie with Sebastian’s words.

“Yes. I was almost to the car when that happened, but I was able to hide behind the trees at the entrance. When those murderers left I went to my parents, but there was nothing I could do for them. So I had to stay at the school with everybody else”

“I’m so sorry, Kitty” Sebastian said with a sigh, feeling completely useless at his lack of appropriate words to offer to the girl. “And I’m also sorry for lashing out at you, I now understand why you felt threatened enough to pull a gun on me and Sam”

“You didn’t know” she immediately dismissed his worries. “And you were angry about us leaving Blaine in that hospital, so…”

“I’m still sorry” he insisted.

“Apology accepted then” she answered with a warm smile.

“You alright?” Sebastian asked, more incisively. Because the fact that she hadn’t shared a tear while explaining something like that to him didn’t mean she was alright, right?

“I have to be” she answered, and as her voice shook slightly Sebastian put a comforting arm around the petite girl’s shoulders. “There is no other choice”

“You know, I feel like this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” Sebastian only half joked as he squeezed Kitty to his side, giving her a wide smile when she turned to look at him.

“Shut up!” she joked, disentangling herself from his arms and slapping his arm playfully as Sebastian heartily laughed.

“Why don’t we have a rest for a minute?” Artie suddenly caught everyone’s attention with his request. “I’m sure poor Trent here is exhausted after pushing my chair for so long”

Of course the real reason for Artie to ask for a rest was not himself, or even Trent –who had been kind enough to push his chair when Artie’s arms had become too tired–, but for Blaine. The other boy hadn’t complained even once, but he and Sam were gradually being left behind as Blaine’s pace kept getting slower because of the pain.

“I’m alright, I can keep going” Trent answered, not noticing Artie’s intentions.

“Well, I can’t, I’m telling you this diva needs a bit of rest if you want her to keep looking as fabulous as she does” Unique, much more observant than the warbler, intervened, effectively getting any possible focus of Blaine’s injury, for which Artie sent her a grateful smile.

Without asking, Sam deposited Blaine on the floor at the side of the road as everyone started sitting down around them –making sure to keep their eyes and ears open for any possible undesirable appearances–. Then Sam sat down next to him and put his bag on his lap so he could rummage through it.

“Here” he said, stretching his arm towards his friend so he would take the energy bar he was offering him. “I took it from your locker, so you can’t say you don’t like it”

“Thanks” Blaine answered with a grateful smile, though it came more as a grimace as he tried to recover his breath after all the effort.

“I imagine you are not hungry with all the pain and the exhaustion and everything but… you need your energy” Sam encouraged him, and it moved Blaine to no end how well Sam could read him and how much he cared about his wellbeing.

“So Sam, did you bring energy bars for the rest of us?” Puck joked from the other end of the group, and Blaine wondered if it was really just innocent kidding or he was actually trying to hint something –after all, he had already done that in the morning, right?

“No, just for him” Sam joked back, once again without a hint of embarrassment in his voice, playing along with Puck’s game –whatever it was–, which made Blaine wonder if he was just overthinking it or Sam really didn’t give a fuck about the others implying there was something between them.

Before he had time to give it much more thought, Mike suggested they should get going or they wouldn’t make it before dark and everybody reluctantly agreed and started getting up. Blaine tried to stand up too before Sam came to help him, but as soon as he rested his injured leg on the floor, the pain that raised up all the way to his hip became so unbearable that he couldn’t help a loud moan that immediately got the blond’s attention.

“What’s wrong, B?” he asked, appalled at the paleness of Blaine’s skin as he held his leg protectively towards himself.

“Nothing” Blaine answered through clenched teeth as he tried to deal with the unexpected jolt of pain. “I guess my leg cooled while we rested, I just need a minute”

“Let me help you” Sam immediately offered, taking Blaine’s hands and pulling him upright, making sure to keep his arms around his waist to hold onto him until he was stable enough to do it himself. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”

“Yeah, yeah, it feels better already” Blaine answered honestly, as the pain seemed to have subsided a little, but as soon as he tried to take another step on that leg it happened again, which elicited a visible wince that didn’t go unnoticed to his friend.

“Ok, you can’t keep going on like this, it obviously hurts too much” Sam said.

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m fine” Blaine answered, although the grimace on his face made how much he was hurting pretty obvious.

“That’s enough, Blaine” Artie interrupted, looking guiltily at his friend for what he was about to do. “I’m sorry, but you can’t go on like this”

“Artie…” Blaine warned him, but the other boy had already made his decision.

“He’s in a lot of pain, Sam” Artie confessed, avoiding Blaine’s furious gaze. “He was even before we left the school, much more than he was letting on, but didn’t want anybody to know”

“Is that true?” Sam asked, looking accusingly at Blaine, making him felt incredibly guilty at the hurt in his eyes for not having trusted him with the truth.

“He thought he would be able to make it” Artie said, trying to defend him even if it had been him the one to put him in that position. “But it’s obvious he can’t keep going on. I’m sorry, Blaine, but you didn’t keep your promise either”

“I thought you trusted me” Sam said, turning accusingly to Blaine again.

“I’m sorry” Blaine apologized, his eyes and his voice filled with sorrow at having disappointed Sam of all people. “But I thought it was for the best, we needed…”

“I don’t want to hear it” Sam interrupted him as he took his backpack off his shoulders and handed it to Tina, who was standing nearby. “Tina, take this”

“What are you doing?” Blaine asked as Sam walked to him, turned around until he was giving him his back and crouched in front of him.

“Just climb onto my back for a piggyback ride right now before I get really angry” Sam ordered him, knowing that making Blaine feel guilty could probably prove more useful than begging him to do it.

“What? No, Sam, are you crazy? You can’t carry me all the way down there!” Blaine protested, blushing furiously at all the attention he knew they were drawing to themselves.

“I’m not telling you a second time, Blaine, jump in right now” Sam threatened, but still Blaine would protest.

“I’m not going to… What the hell are you doing?” Blaine shrieked as someone unceremoniously grabbed him from behind and lifted him up until he was securely on Sam’s back, who took advantage of the situation to straighten up and firmly grab Blaine’s legs so he wouldn’t be able to climb down.

“Blaine, you know I love you, but I can’t possibly hear you saying you’re fine one more time” Sebastian answered as he made sure Blaine was secure in Sam’s grip before he let go of him.

“But I’m fine!” Blaine protested with a pout, not being able to help it even if he knew he was sounding as a spoilt brat.

“I said I didn’t want to hear it!” Sebastian answered, chuckling at his friend’s antics.

“Sam, put me down immediately, you can’t possibly carry me all the way there, I’m too heavy” Blaine said, trying to squirm his way out of Sam’s grip, but the latter was having none of that and just held onto him more strongly.

“Aww, isn’t it adorable how he thinks he is all big and heavy?” Sam joked, hoping the embarrassment would beat Blaine’s resistance.

And it did. At the end of the sentence Blaine was blushing so badly that his mouth shut on its own accord and he stopped struggling at once.

“Ok, so shall we get going?” Sam cockily said as he noticed all their friends looking amusedly and grinning at them, so he simply started walking, with Blaine on his back, expecting the others to follow.

“This is the most ridiculous stunt you’ve managed to pull for a long time” Blaine protested in Sam’s ear after a few minutes of embarrassed silence when he finally surrendered and put his arms loosely around Sam’s neck, eliciting a chuckle from him as he imagined the pout that undoubtedly was in Blaine’s lips even if he couldn’t see him.

“Can you just for once stop worrying about everything and just enjoy the ride?” Sam answered, all anger forgotten for now, as he even jumped a couple of times as if he was a horse, aiming for some laughter that he was glad to receive from the smaller boy.

“Ok, but you’ve got to promise me you will let me down if we have to run” Blaine answered.

“I promise” Sam replied too quickly.

“You so crossed your fingers!”

“If you knew I was going to do it, why did you even ask?”

“Oh my God, just shut up!” Santana protested good-naturedly, heartily laughing when Sam smiled and Blaine blushed again.

They continued down the road for a good while, with little talking and eyes wide open, until they came across with one of the school buses –probably the one Ryder had mentioned it had been stolen just the day before–, doors closed and no sound or movement coming from it. Everyone looked wearily at it, trying to decide what to do, as the fact that it had been left abandoned in the middle of the road couldn’t mean good news for sure. But it was so tempting…

“Ok, so who knows how to drive a bus?” Puck asked with a mischievous smile towards the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what? I know I said there would be some important characters' deaths but apart from the one that WILL happen and I had planned from the beginning, I'm feeling guilty now! And I can't decide which of them should be the first one! But this is The Walking Dead, there has to be casualties, right?


	10. Chapter 10

“Don’t be so quick, Puck” Sam warned him. “There must be a reason why it was left here, right?”

“Well, we won’t know until we have a look, right?” Puck answered as he started approaching the vehicle.

“Maybe we should just forget about it and continue our way” Jake suggested.

“No, we need it” Puck answered, sending a quick look at Blaine before he could stop himself. “We are all pretty tired, and there is still a good way to go”

“Ok, but let’s be careful” Mike compromised, always the voice of reason.

They slowly went all the way around the bus to the other side, where the doors were. And just one quick look at them told them the bus was not as empty as they had thought, as there were some walkers piling up just outside the closed doors, obviously trying to get outside.

“How did those walkers get trapped inside?” Marley asked.

“I don’t think walkers got inside the bus” Blaine gravely explained after taking a better look at the biters banging on the doors and recognizing some of them. “Those are the McKinley students that took the bus”

“Oh my God” Brittany exclaimed, her voice full of horror.

“Still…” Marley insisted.

“I guess one of them was already infected when they escaped and…” Blaine stopped himself, knowing there were no more words needed.

“Well, it doesn’t matter” Puck intervened, not wanting to sound insensitive but neither wanting for them to get lost in thoughts that wouldn’t get them anywhere. “Whatever happened we can do nothing about it now. We’ve got to think about ourselves now and what we need right now is that bus”

“How are we going to get it?” Santana asked. “Maybe you didn’t notice it’s full of those monsters”

“Well, we just need to get them out, right?” Puck answered, his voice full or sarcasm. “Ok, I need some of those of you who’ve got guns. Mike, Santana, Kitty, Trent, come here”

“What are you planning to do?” Mike asked.

“Well, I’m obviously going to open that door and you guys will shoot at them as soon as they get out. There are not so many of them, it shouldn’t be difficult”

“Seems like a plan” Blaine answered with a proud smile towards Puck, though it killed him not to be able to help due to the fact he was injured and being carried around by Sam.

“Ok, so we’ll take care of that door and then we’ll move to the other one” Puck suggested as he readied himself for the mission.

“Wait” Blaine stopped them, suddenly thinking of something. “If there are any walkers around those shots will surely attract them”

“You’re right” Puck admitted with a frustrated sigh. “We’ll have to be quick, then. Come on, guys, ready?” Puck asked to the four people he had designated for the job, who were already aiming their guns at the door. “Go!”

Puck had to wrestle with the door for a bit, as the walkers were pushing it from the other side, but in the end he managed to open it and one of the monsters grabbed him before he was able to move out of the way. Fortunately Santana had a good aim, and one shot at his attacker was enough to free him.

It didn’t take them too long to finish them off, as shooting from such a short range made it easier to hit their target, while the others looked intently at them, ready to help if necessary, though they did seem to have it all under control.

When all of the walkers had been successfully killed, the five youngsters moved to the other door to repeat the procedure, though this time Puck was more careful and he got out of the way before they could reach him.

As the group shot their weapons without hesitation, the others were so concentrated on their task in case they would need any help that they forgot to watch their backs. And, as Blaine had predicted, some walkers that had been wandering on the sides of the road started approaching them, the uproar of the guns hiding the gurgling noise that was so characteristic of them.

It wasn’t until a walker was almost reaching Ryder that he noticed a presence behind him and he turned around, expecting it to be one of the other guys. But when he saw it was in fact a walker about to bite his shoulder he shrieked and jumped backwards, falling to the floor in a clumsy move.

“Watch out!” he yelled to his classmates, and it was then when they turned around and found themselves facing at least ten walkers that had come out of nowhere.

Seeing that one of them was almost touching Sam, Blaine reached to the front part of the blond’s waistband of his pants and took the gun that had been kept there until then in one swift movement and aimed it to the walker’s head, not a moment too soon, as it was so close to them that its blood spilt both their faces.

“Hot damn” Sam exclaimed as he gulped, strengthening the grip he kept on Blaine’s legs more strongly after the fright. “Well done”

“Well, I knew you were not going to put me down, so…” Blaine explained as he fired once again towards a walker that was coming threateningly close to Sugar.

“I thought you didn’t know how to shoot” Sam joked for the sake of it, as all hell broke loose around them and everyone that had a gun around them starting using it.

“Well, don’t ask me to do it again, just in case” Blaine answered, firing again while Sam held him, this time missing his target.

“Everybody get on the bus now!” Puck shouted to be heard over all the ruckus, and one look at the bus’ door told them that all the walkers inside the bus had been taken care of.

Mike was the first one to jump inside through the door on the back, wanting to make sure there were no more walkers inside that could mean trouble. And as he ran down the aisle towards the steering wheel, he tripped over something and ended up on the floor, facing a biter that had been trapped under a seat only a few inches from his face. But before he could even get his knife out of his pocket, he saw Tina strongly stabbing the walker in the head.

“Are you alright?” she worriedly asked as he helped him on his feet again.

“I’m fine, thanks to you” he answered as he took only a second to embrace the girl. “Tina, do you think you can drive this thing?”

“Well, I’m surely willing to try” she confidently answered as she ran to take the driver’s seat and she happily bounced for a second when she realized the keys were still there.

“I will watch this door to make sure no more walkers come in” he said, putting himself at the last step so he could easily shot outside if any walkers tried to go in through that door. “Everybody inside, now!” he yelled with all his forces, hoping the others would hear him from outside and start walking in through the other door.

And they did. One by one they started running inside the bus while the others kept shooting at the approaching walkers, but they were not as fast as they would have liked and more monsters kept coming closer and closer to them. The people already inside took position in the windows to keep shooting at the biters and keep the remaining ones safe as they all got into the bus.

Not surprisingly, Sam and Blaine were the last ones left, as they would never run to safety without making sure everybody else was safe first. Blaine had kept shooting at the walkers –who were practically on them by then– while Sam held strongly onto him and hurried everyone else inside until it was only them left.

Sam knew he couldn’t possibly go into the bus with Blaine on his back, as the door was too narrow, so in a swift movement, he lowered him to the floor and moved him in front of him so he could grab him around the waist and lift him into the bus. Fortunately Sebastian was waiting to help in the inside and he grabbed Blaine’s hands to help Sam in getting Blaine inside as soon as possible.

Blaine, of course, was very conscious of how important it was to be quick if they wanted for Sam to safely make it into the bus too, so he didn’t even bother in making all the way up, as that would take too much time with his injured leg, and contented himself with getting out of the way, sitting on the top of the stairs, so the first steps would be free for Sam to jump onto them.

“Go, Tina!” Sebastian yelled as soon as Sam put his second foot on the bus.

Tina didn’t lose a second to start the bus and with a brusque movement it started moving. But they hadn’t gathered much speed yet when one of the walkers outside grabbed Sam’s leg and made him lose his balance, so with hardly a grunt of surprise he ended falling on the stairs with the upper part of his body as his legs were left hanging off from the bus door.

“Sam!” Blaine yelled desperately, as he quickly grabbed one of Sam’s arms to keep him from falling out of the bus completely. “Somebody help me!”

Thankfully Sebastian was still right next to them and could grab Sam’s other arm to keep him inside. But the walker was still clinging to Sam’s leg, not minding about being dragged along the road with the movement of the bus, and was making it very difficult for the boys to keep Sam inside, as the latter fought with his free leg both to keep himself aboard and to get rid of the damned walker.

Puck ran to the boys and leant onto Blaine so he could also have a grab of Sam, worried that they would lose him before he could get rid of the walker.

Blaine watched, his heart in his throat, as Sam fought with all his forces to knock the biter and get it to let go, and wished he could do something else than just holding him. He still had the gun he had taken from Sam’s waistband, but shooting from his position was too risky, as he could very well hit Sam instead of the walker. Plus he couldn’t risk letting go of him to grab the gun or he could fall completely out of the bus and on the walkers’ reach.

Stopping the bus was not an option either, as there were a lot more walkers trying to get it, and they would get Sam before they had the time to get him out of danger.

“Come on, Sam” Blaine begged him, his voice sounding so desperate it was painful to hear. “Kick its head, come on!”

Maybe it was the pain in Blaine’s voice; maybe he was just lucky, he didn’t know. But the next kick Sam threw in the walker’s direction hit its target on the head with great force to the point it made him let go of Sam’s leg, so it fell on the road and the bus’ wheel stepped over it.

Blaine, Puck and Sebastian immediately took advantage of the fact that nothing was pulling Sam out of the bus anymore and quickly pulled him inside until he fell on his knees on the steps, right in front of where Blaine was sitting.

“Close the doors now!” Puck yelled as he stood up, satisfied when he saw Mike hurrying to find the right button to obey.

Sam was still trying to regain his breath when he found himself engulfed in a suffocating embrace, and he didn’t even need to look up to know it was Blaine, channeling his panic through a hug as the door closed behind them. Sam immediately put his own arms around the smaller boy, wanting both to give and get comfort from him, as he buried his face in the crook of Blaine’s neck and inhaled deeply, Blaine’s unique essence filling his nostrils in the most reassuring way, diminishing his shaking almost instantly.

“I’m alright, B” Sam said when he was finally able to find his voice, his hand tracing comforting patterns on Blaine’s back. “It didn’t get me”

But Blaine didn’t answer, only held onto him more strongly as if he was afraid Sam would disappear if he let go of him. He was shaking, and not even Sam’s gentle rocking or the hand that Sebastian comfortingly laid on his back weren’t helping.

“Hey” Sam said as he broke the embrace and cupped Blaine’s face into his hands, trying to get him to react. “I’m okay”

“You sure?” Blaine finally managed to ask, incredibly relieved when Sam’s answer was to smile at him.

“I’m sure” Sam answered as he took Blaine’s hands in his and squeezed them for a second. “Only a bit shaken”

“Me too” Blaine confessed, and Sam had to chuckle at that, as if it hadn’t been obvious enough how shaken Blaine was.

“Let’s get you to a seat, shall we?” Sam suggested, and gave Blaine’s hands a last squeeze before getting up.

Between Sam and Sebastian, who had remained at their side in case they needed any help, they got Blaine on his feet and had him sit on the nearest seat. And even if there were not so many people and the bus was not even half full, Sam didn’t even hesitate to sit next to him instead of having another seat just for him, knowing both of them needed the closeness right then. As soon as he accommodated himself next to his friend, Sam carefully lifted Blaine’s legs on his lap, making sure to keep the injured one straight and secure in a light grip.

“Better keep it elevated” he explained when he noticed Blaine’s puzzled gaze.

Blaine’s answer was to smile gratefully at his thoughtful friend and taking his hand in his again with the intention of giving it a quick squeeze and let go of it. But Sam entwined their fingers together instead as he reciprocated his smile, and rested their joined hands on top of Blaine’s legs. And they didn’t let go of each other during the entire trip left to the prison.

**********

All of them started getting excited, being unable to stop smiling and sighing with relief, when the bus covered the final yards towards the prison they had been looking for. Having a safe place to live in, a roof above their heads where they could stay together while not having to worry constantly, seemed almost too much.

“We can’t go any further with the bus” Tina announced to her classmates. “All the fences are closed”

“How are we going to get in then?” Joe asked, unconsciously turning to Blaine for answers.

“Did any of you get any wire cutters from the school?” Blaine asked to no one in particular.

“I did” Marley answered, proud to be able to help.

“But if we cut the fence won’t that make it possible for the walkers to go in too?” Unique answered.

“Not if we only do a small hole to pass and then we close it again with some wire or cable or anything like that” Blaine explained.

“I’ve got tones of that” Brittany intervened.

“And as it’s only the outside fence, and we will hopefully be able to close the other one from inside if we find the keys, it wouldn’t be a problem even if they managed to undo it with time, right?” Sam finished for his friend, smiling proudly at him, a gesture that was immediately reciprocated.

“Exactly” Blaine answered. “We just need to reach one of the blocks, seal it up as best we can, and we’ll explore everything else tomorrow”

“There are a lot of walkers in the way, though” Jake lamented, as some of the prisoners of the jail had obviously got caught inside when the attack started and had turned into walkers, wandering aimlessly in their prison clothes around the open space between the fence and the building.

“There are not so many of them” Puck answered, trying to be optimistic for the sake of everyone else. “We’ve dealt with worse”

“Ok, so everybody get ready, then” Mike suggested as he took the wire cutter Marley was offering to him and prepared his gun. “We have to be quick”

Mike and Puck were the firsts to leave the bus and they ran to the fence to start working on making a whole big enough to get everyone at the other side of the fence as everybody else starting leaving the bus. Santana ran after them with the cable she had gotten from Brittany’s back to protect the other two in case any walker came close enough before they had finished getting everybody inside.

As soon as they managed to cut enough of the fence to go in, the three of them came inside and Puck and Mike held the edges open for everybody else to make their way through it. And as soon as each of them got inside, they immediately closed around the others to take care of any walkers that approached, although they were still not too close. Blaine and Artie needed help to get inside, but soon everybody had found their way through the fence and Mike and Puck hurried to close the gap with the cable Santana was offering to them.

“Alright, jump on my back” Sam hurriedly ordered Blaine, standing in front of him so he would obey.

“No, Sam, you can’t fight with me on your back” Blaine immediately protested.

“Blaine, we don’t have time for this, I assure you I’ll be much safer if I’ve got you on my back and you shoot for the both of us than if I have to be constantly checking out if you’re alright as you struggle to move” Sam tried to reason with him.

Blaine sighed, knowing Sam was probably right in everything he had said, so for once he complied and jumped on Sam’s back the best he could, holding onto him with one hand and onto the gun with the other, intent of protecting both of them as Sam made their way through the walkers.

“Everyone make a circle!” Sebastian suggested, knowing there was less chance of them being hurt if they protected each other.

Everyone could see that, even if some of the walkers weren’t even that near yet, the most intelligent thing to do would be to kill as many of them as they could, so they wouldn’t have to worry about them later, so everybody made a good job of fighting them, some of them from a distance with their guns, others fighting them more directly with their knives. The ones who were less used or skillful to fighting were left to run in the middle of the group as the others moved around them and defended them.

When they reached the interior fence, they were relieved to find the door open, so they all made their way inside and Puck and Mike again closed it behind them with the cable as a temporary solution until they found the keys to properly lock it. Now they only had a small distance to cover to the nearest cell block, and there weren’t that many walkers on that area, so they could relax a little.

“I’ll carry Blaine for a while now, Sam” Puck offered with a gentle hand to his shoulder, as he noticed how the blond was slightly panting with the effort after running all that way while carrying Blaine’s weight.

“No” Sam gratefully but confidently refused as he reinforced his grip on the smaller boy. Blaine had stayed with Sam in that damned hospital to keep him alive, so it was his responsibility now that he was injured to make sure Blaine would be alright too. “I can do it”

“Sam, Puck can carry me, I won’t even complain, I promise” Blaine tried to convince him too, willing to compromise to anything to make it easier for Sam, though it was to no avail.

“I can do it” Sam stubbornly repeated as he started moving again and encouraged the others too before they could try to convince him again. “Let’s make a circle again!”

**********

The fight continued until they could reach the building. Sebastian and Trent opened the door very carefully, perfectly aware they were going to find more walkers trapped inside. Everybody continued moving in a circle even once inside and killing every one of the walkers they could find, even those who were not a real thread as they had been trapped inside of the cells.

When they reached the control area, they found the body of one of the prison officers that seemed to have committed suicide as the only wound in him was the shot he had received to his head. Not wanting to dwell on how desperate he must have been to do something like that, Kitty walked around the body and picked the set of keys hanging from his belt.

It wasn’t long until they were positively sure they had ended up every possible walker in the block, going cell by cell, opening them and making sure there would be no surprises. Then Kitty and Sebastian went outside to properly lock the interior fence for further protection and the rest of them –the ones that were able– started taking the bodies outside to get rid of them and make the place a bit more habitable. Sugar suggested making a pyre with all the bodies so they wouldn’t have to see them all the time, and Joe quickly agreed to it and took charge of that task.

It was starting to get dark when they considered they had worked enough for the day and everybody started assembling on what had been the dining room, in the circle that was quickly becoming so characteristic of them. They were tired and kind of battered after so much walking and fighting that day, but there was a sense of optimism and peace amongst them as they felt safer than they had since the whole debacle started. And knowing that all of them had survived such a dangerous day and could still sit together was way more comforting than they would have ever thought.

“Guys, we made it” Blaine said with a wide smile.

“Yeah, we did” Santana answered, reciprocating his smile as he threw an arm around Brittany and drew her close to her side.

“We still have some work to do, though” Mike seriously reminded them. “Tomorrow we need to go find the kitchen, the storeroom, the infirmary… Any place that could prove useful”

“You’re right” Sam quickly agreed. One of the reasons they had come to the prison were the supplies they were sure they would find, so they would have to look for them and take inventory of everything they had.

“And I think we should keep watch at the door constantly” Blaine suggested, hoping the others would be more receptive to his suggestions that the first time around. “I know it feels much more secure here but…”

“But we never know” Ryder finished for him, with an understanding nod.

“We need to establish some turns if we want to be efficient” Blaine continued, encouraged by the fact that everyone seemed to agree with him. “Starting today. I can take the first one”

“Oh my God, Sam, get him into a cell and out of our sight once and for all!” Puck exclaimed, feigning to be really annoyed and eliciting a few laughs around him –except from Blaine, of course.

“What?” he asked with a furrowed brow.

“Do you really think any of us is going to let you stand guard tonight?” Mike intervened. “You go, have some very much needed and deserved rest and you will keep watch when your leg is feeling better, alright?”

“Alright” Blaine agreed with a grateful smile, much more easily than any of them would have expected, so they knew how much he must be really hurting.

“Sam, make sure he does as he’s told” Mike suggested, making it sound as if he was giving him a task instead of giving them some time together to relax –which they had undoubtedly earned themselves–, which was what he really was doing. “We’ll establish the turns to keep watch”

“Alright” Sam easily agreed, grateful for the chance to finally have Blaine get some rest, as he stood up and hung his backpack that Tina had been carrying for him until then on the front part of his torso from his shoulders so it would rest on his chest. “You won’t hear from us again until tomorrow”

“I really hope so” Puck answered, as usual hiding his concern for his friends under some light joking.

“Come on, dude” Sam said as he offered a hand for Blaine to help him stand and then crouched in front of him for Blaine to climb onto his back again, which for once he did without complaint.

With his precious burden on his back, Sam left the dining room, which they had already established as their common room, and found their way to the cells again, with the intention of taking possession of one of them and having Blaine take that rest he so desperately needed. He passed a whole lot of open doors and looked curiously at the stairs that would lead them to the first floor.

“You want to take a cell upstairs?” Blaine asked as he seemed to read his mind, more curious than anything, as whatever Sam decided would be good enough for him.

“Why not?” Sam asked in a mischievous tone. “That way we can get to have more privacy, don’t you think?”

“Sure” Blaine answered tentatively –because what was Sam up to, that suddenly he needed so much privacy?–. “But you can’t take the stairs while carrying me”

“Please” Sam answered, easily starting with the first steps as if it was not a big deal.

“When did you get so strong, Sam?” Blaine asked in complete awe as Sam went up the stairs as normally as he would if Blaine wasn’t hanging from his back. “You’ve been carrying me for a good while and you’re not even sweating”

“Well, I’ve always been strong, I’m offended you never noticed before” Sam joked, feeling quite proud of himself with Blaine noticing his strength. “And let me tell you, you don’t weight half of what you think you weight…”

“Will you stop calling me small?” Blaine complained good-naturedly, to which Sam couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Well, then… grow” he answered the first thing that came to his mind, but he was happy when Blaine burst out laughing, so he joined him and both ended up with tears in their eyes before Sam picked up the perfect cell for them –as neither one of them had even doubted they were going to share. “What do you think?”

Even though it was the coldest and emptiest place they had probably ever been, with only two bunk beds, a desk and a chair, given the circumstances it looked comfortable and secure enough, so Blaine didn’t think he could ask for much more.

“I think it’s great” he answered honestly.

“You should have the bottom bunk” Sam immediately offered as he carefully let Blaine slip from his back onto the floor and forced him to sit on the bunk bed even before his injured leg made contact with the floor. “You can’t climb with that leg”

“You just want the top one, admit it” Blaine lightly joked, knowing he would let Sam have the bed he wanted anyway, as a thank you for carrying him half of the way –and who was he trying to kid, because he couldn’t say no to Sam.

“Ok, then I’m calling it” Sam joked back, throwing his backpack on the top bed as a way of marking his territory.

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Blaine protested, trying to sound outraged.

“You’re always so slow with these things, it’s so easy to get you!” Sam laughed, playfully punching Blaine’s arm for good measure.

“That’s ‘cause you take advantage of my trust in you” Blaine pouted, trying not to smile at his friend’s antics as he carefully lifted both his legs until they were resting on the bed and winced in pain with the movement before he could stop himself.

“How’s your leg?” Sam asked, as he had obviously not missed the painful expression on his friend’s leg.

“It’s hurting like the devil” Blaine admitted with a sad smile, knowing there was no point in denying it any longer.

“Why didn’t you tell me how bad your leg really hurt?” Sam asked, not wanting to make Blaine feel guilty or to start a fight, but needing to know.

“Because I didn’t want you to worry” Blaine answered in all honesty.

“It… hurt that you weren’t honest with me” Sam confessed, biting his bottom lip in a nervous gesture that Blaine made sigh.

“I’m sorry” Blaine apologized, and there was so much sorrow and sincerity in his voice that Sam didn’t even doubt for a second that he indeed was. “I didn’t want to hurt you. But it was not because I didn’t trust you, you know. I trust you with my life”

“Yet you should have been honest with me” Sam insisted, trying to make a point for future situations. “I’ve always been honest with you”

“You’re right. I’m really sorry” Blaine repeated, in an obvious need to be forgiven so Sam took pity of him.

“It’s okay. I know you didn’t want to hurt me” he said, trying not to notice the grimace that appeared on Blaine’s face as he again tried to make himself comfortable on the narrow bed.

Sam sighed in frustration, wishing there was something he could do to alleviate his best friend’s pain. But with no doctors, medicines, or even ice to help the swelling down, there was hardly anything that could help his leg heal, except rest and patience. And waiting had never been a strong point of Sam, so he guessed that, if he couldn’t take Blaine’s pain away, at least he could make him forget about it.

“Hey” he said to get Blaine’s attention as he rummaged through his back and took something out. “Look what I found”

“Where the hell did you find this?” Blaine asked in awe as Sam handed him a brand new bottle of vodka, still untouched. It felt so out of place that it didn’t even seem real, Blaine thought as he couldn’t help a big smile.

“I had it in my locker, so I put it in my bag before we left when I remembered about it” Sam explained as he sat on the bottom bed next to Blaine and took the bottle from him.

“That was what was so important that you had to get?” Blaine asked as he remembered Sam going back to the main building of the school to get something only that same morning. “And what the hell were you doing with a bottle of vodka in your locker?”

“You never know when you’re going to need it, right?” Sam asked with a mischievous smirk as he opened the bottle.

“You’re unbelievable” Blaine exclaimed, making Sam’s heart flutter at the admiration he could see in the other’s eyes. So that’s why he had wanted some privacy, right?

“I took it out to have a quiet drink with everyone, but I think my best friend needs it more” Sam explained with a warm smile before passing the now open bottle to his friend again. “Nobody needs to know, right?”

**********

With a full bottle for just the two of them, it didn’t take them that long to get a bit tipsier than expected. Even if they had only meant to relax a bit, the conversation and easy joking had soon started flowing and they had drunk more than they had initially planned, to the point they were not completely drunk but were more than a little tipsy. Not that it was a problem, though, as they were having the time of their lives as they sat side by side on Blaine’s bed, resting their backs on the wall with the bottle going continually from hand to hand as they took long sips and laughed about the most stupid things.

“Oh my God, no!” Blaine protested between laughs, trying to stop Sam’s hands that were trying to tickle him on his middle. “Stop, I’m not doing a belching contest with you!”

“You’re no fun to be around!” Sam complained with an exaggerated sigh, as he stopped the tickling and let his head fall on Blaine’s shoulder. “You’re such a stiff!”

“And you’re such a pig!” Blaine replied as he unceremoniously pushed Sam away from him.

“Well, I’m just trying to find a game to play! It’s not like we can play spin the bottle, right?” Sam protested, stopping Blaine’s laughter in an instant.

“Why not?” Blaine asked once he found his voice again, after imagining what it would be like to be kissed by the boy next to him. He was a bit offended that Sam so easily assumed they couldn’t play it, would that be so gross for him to kiss him?

“Because we only have this one bottle, and we’re not done with it yet, you know” Sam tried to reason with him, completely oblivious to what had been going through Blaine’s mind even if the latter sighed in relief.

“Oh, that’s a good reason” Blaine added, feeling happy again now that he knew Sam didn’t think kissing him was completely out of question –not that he had said the contrary or anything, but it seemed pretty coherent in Blaine’s slightly fuzzed mind.

“Besides the room is already spinning enough, we don’t need a bottle for that” Sam replied as he confusedly looked towards the ceiling and tried to stop the room from spinning any longer.

“I think you’ve had enough for today” Blaine said with a chuckle as he stole the bottle from Sam’s hand and held it out of his reach.

“Don’t be such a spoilsport, man!” Sam protested as he tried to reach it, not seeming to notice he was practically lying down on Blaine’s lap.

“I’m not! I’m just looking out for you” Blaine explained as he effectively hid the bottle between the bed and the wall, really meaning it about not letting Sam drink any more.

“Aww, aren’t you a sweetheart?” Sam exclaimed, apparently forgetting he had been deprived from his vodka thanks to Blaine’s sweet words, so he stopped trying to find the bottle and rested a noisy and sloppy kiss on Blaine’s cheek instead.

“Get off me!” Blaine said with a laugh as he removed Sam’s spittle from his cheek and tried to push him away from his chest to no avail. “And move, I want to lie down”

“No, I’m too comfy, you move” Sam answered, nestling more comfortably on Blaine’s chest.

“This is my bed!” Blaine protested.

“Who said so?”

“You did! You called the top one!”

“Oh, right! I won!”

“Well, congratulations!” Blaine sarcastically answered as he effectively removed Sam from his chest this time. “Now move”

“Ok” Sam answered with a sigh as he let himself be pushed away from Blaine’s chest and moved to completely lie down on the narrow bed, careful not to fall from the edge as he watched Blaine making a mockingly annoyed face at him. “What? You said I had to move, you didn’t say where to. There’s enough room for you to lie here next to me, just come to Sammy” he said, patting the space next to him and making Blaine laugh wholeheartedly again.

“Oh my God, Sam, I wish I could put you on tape” Blaine answered as he finally let himself convinced and lay down next to him.

Silence fell upon them for a minute, too tired and comfortable to break the moment. They just lay there, facing each other, not minding the proximity imposed by the very narrow bunk bed, as they looked into each other’s eyes, feeling grateful once again for the person they had ended sharing the apocalypse with.

“You look happy” Sam whispered after a couple of minutes, gently grabbing Blaine’s chin between his fingers as if he didn’t want Blaine to move, as if he just wanted to capture the moment like that.

“Do I?” Blaine asked, shyly smiling at his friend.

“Yeah. Or at least you don’t look as sad as the last days. I don’t like seeing you sad” Sam clumsily explained, sweetly running his knuckles across Blaine’s cheek before removing his hand from the other’s face.

“That’s because you’re a good friend” Blaine said with a playful punch to Sam’s shoulder.

“Don’t you mean _your best friend_?” Sam corrected him with a noticeable frown.

“Well, of course”

“Because we have a lot of friends here. I’d hate to think I’m just another one of them to you”

“Sammy, you would never be just another one, and you know it” Blaine said, more seriously that he had intended, as he rested his hand on Sam’s shoulder and gently squeezed it.

“Great, because you’re my bestie too, man” Sam answered with a relieved smile.

“That’s great, Sammy”

“It’s still nice to be surrounded by other friends too, though. We’re lucky people”

“I know” Blaine answered, smiling at Sam’s unbreakable optimism.

“I wish all of our friends were here. Even the ones we know nothing about” Sam continued, and Blaine wondered for a minute if he was just babbling out every thought that came to his head or he was clumsily trying to get somewhere.

“Yeah, I wish that too” he answered in confusion.

“Do you ever think about what they might be doing?”

“Sometimes”

“Do you ever wonder about Kurt?” Sam asked, trying to sound casual, but Blaine felt like Sam had been beating about the bush just to make that question, and he wondered if he had wanted to ask him about Kurt for days and only the alcohol had given him the courage to do it.

“Yes” he honestly answered, not feeling the need to lie to his best friend –and besides, he had also had more than his share of vodka and had lost his ability to be subtle.

“You must be worried sick about him” Sam continued, turning to lie on his back, and if Blaine didn’t know any better, he would have thought Sam sounded almost jealous at the notion.

“Of course” he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “The same as with Rachel, Finn or Mercedes. But I like to think this hasn’t reach New York and they’re alright, you know”

“The same as them?” Sam asked, clearly surprised –and pleased– at the answer.

“Kurt and I… we haven’t been an issue for so long now, Sam” Blaine explained, and he was surprised himself when he realized admitting that didn’t make his heart hurt anymore.

“But I thought you wanted to get back together with him” Sam insisted.

“I did at first but… not anymore. I’m over him” Blaine said, grabbing Sam’s chin to make his head turn so he could look into his eyes and convince him about how serious he was. “And so is he. We are friends now. Well… you know what I mean, at least we were… in our other life”

“I’m glad you made your peace with that, then” Sam honestly said, as he had been the most direct witness of Blaine’s pain after the breakup.

“What about you and Mercedes?” Blaine asked, now he being the one to anxiously wait for an answer.

“No” Sam answered while turning to look at the ceiling and confidently shaking his head. “No chance of that happening again”

“Good” Blaine answered before he could stop himself, blushing immediately when he realized what he had done.

“Good?” Sam asked, more surprised than angry when he turned his head to look at him again.

“Sorry” Blaine apologized, looking down so as not to meet Sam’s gaze. “I didn’t mean to be rude or anything but…”

“But what?”

“She never appreciated you for who you are, you know? She took you for granted. She should have been grateful every day for having you by her side and she wasn’t. You deserved something better”

“You really think so?” Sam asked, his voice full of hope and something else Blaine couldn’t identify.

“Of course” Blaine was quick to reassure him, raising his eyes again to meet Sam’s. “You’re special, Sammy. And the person whom you decide to share your live with should remind you that every day” he added, his voice shaking slightly at the end at the longing and the hope he could be that someone.

“You already do that, you know?” Sam said with the sweetest smile.

“What?”

“Make me feel special”

“That’s because you are” Blaine answered with the sweetest smile he could muster, a smile that made Sam’s heart flutter like it had never done before.

“Not as much as you” Sam replied as he turned on his side again and fondly booped Blaine’s nose with his index finger before turning serious again. “Can I be totally honest with you?”

“Of course”

“I didn’t like Kurt for you either”

“Why?” Blaine asked in surprise; it was true that he and Sam hadn’t been that close before Kurt broke up with him, but he had always thought he was supportive of their relationship.

“Pretty much the same reasons. He never valued you as you deserved” Sam explained, picking Blaine’ hand in between them and starting a game of entwining and untwining their fingers as he opened his heart to him. “He always expected you to make all the sacrifices and in the end he neglected you when you needed him the most. And he didn’t make you happy. And if you’re not happy you don’t smile. And your smile lights up the whole room, I can’t believe he never noticed that”

“Really?” Blaine asked, his voice shaking with emotion at Sam’s sweet words.

“Of course really” Sam answered, looking at the other boy as if he was the most precious thing in the world, his tongue obviously looser than usual because of the vodka. “There is only one thing prettier than your smile, and that’s your eyes”

“Ok, I’m never letting you near that bottle again” Blaine joked, needing a distraction from Sam’s intensity if he didn’t want to start crying like a baby.

“What? Your eyes are gorgeous, Blaine, with or without vodka” Sam protested in all seriousness.

“Ok, then tell me again sometime when you’re not drunk” Blaine joked, disentangling his hand from Sam’s grip to lightly punch him on the shoulder again.

“I will, because it’s true” Sam promised, catching Blaine’s hand in his again before he could remove it from him and holding it to his chest, apparently unable to not be in direct physical contact with him today. “Because you and your eyes are very pretty, fact. Can’t you take a compliment?”

“I guess I’m not that used to them. There was a lot of truth in what you said about Kurt” Blaine said with a sigh before he could stop himself.

“Why did we end up with people who never really got to know us or appreciate us?” Sam complained, even if a small smile was still decorating his lips.

“I don’t know” Blaine answered with a chuckle.

“I think no one has ever known me as you do” Sam added, getting all intense again –and gosh, could he stop it before it really made Blaine burst into tears?

“Of course I know you, Sam. I care about you a lot”

“Same here. You know that, don’t you? You’re the most important person in my life, Blaine. And not just now that there are so few of us… you’ve already been for some time”

“Sam, I…” Blaine tried to speak, though he stopped himself when he realized he didn’t know what to say.

“Blaine, I don’t know how much you are aware of about the night you got trapped under that car, but… you said…” Sam said, and Blaine wanted to die when he vividly remembered he had told Sam he loved him when he thought he was going to die.

“Forget it, Sam” Blaine answered, lowering his face when he felt it burning from embarrassment –because it was impossible that Sam felt the same way, right?– “You don’t need to carry that burden over your shoulders. We’ve got enough as it is”

“No, Blaine, I…” Sam interrupted him, carefully lifting his face again with a finger under his chin. “I just wanted to tell you… that I love you too, buddy”

“Sure, Sam” Blaine answered while trying to smile at Sam, thankful that he hadn’t really seen the truth behind his words but disappointed at the same time. “Thanks, bro”

“I really mean it” Sam insisted as he looked intently at his friend, distractedly gracing the tip of his fingers along Blaine’s bottom lip. “You have amazing lips too, you know”

“Oh, you want to talk” Blaine answered, laughing nervously, not really knowing what to do or think about Sam’s actions and words.

Sam then gave him the sweetest smile Blaine had ever seen, apparently very satisfied of himself about making Blaine laugh. After all, hadn’t he just said that Blaine’s smile could light a whole room? Then he moved his hand to Blaine’s cheek to gently cup it and very slowly leant towards him until his lips covered Blaine’s for a second in a chaste kiss, more like an innocent brush of skins, but enough to spread a very real warmth all across Blaine’s chest that drove his heart to full speed. Because having Sam’s lips against his own was everything Blaine had ever dreamt, and it was happening.

When they separated, there was no trace of a smile in Sam’s lips anymore, but his gaze was still deeply set on Blaine’s, almost as if he was trying to read his mind. His thumb, still on Blaine’s cheek, traced small patterns on the sensitive skin, sending shivers all the way to Blaine’s spine. But when Sam’s hand moved to cup the back of his head and he lifted his head from the pillow to kiss him again, more deeply this time, Blaine reluctantly lifted his hand to Sam’s chest and gently stopped him before their lips made contact again.

“You’re drunk, Sam” Blaine said with an apologetic smile, hoping it was explanation enough. Because yes, that was what Blaine wanted the most in the world, but not like that, not under the effects of alcohol as he feared was happening. He wanted it to mean something.

“Yeah, I think I am” Sam admitted as he lay back down at Blaine’s side, and the latter wasn’t sure if it was disappointment what he could see in Sam’s face.

“We should get some sleep” Blaine said, lost in a limbo of excitement about what had just happened and sadness about what he had stopped, so he turned his back on Sam and faced the wall, so the latter couldn’t possibly read anything in his eyes that gave any of his inner turmoil away.

Not even a minute had passed when Blaine felt strong arms going around his waist and a warm body gluing to his back, impossibly close, and he had to smile in spite of him. No matter what Sam really wanted with him, which he honestly couldn’t figure out anymore, he knew he would always have him at his side. And that was already a big deal, even if nothing else came to happen.

“These beds are ridiculously narrow” Sam complained as he pressed even closer to the other boy, afraid of falling from the edge of the bunk bed.

“Go to your own then” Blaine answered with a chuckle, hoping against hope that the blond wouldn’t obey.

“But it’s so far away and I’m so tired!” Sam whined, nuzzling the back of Blaine’s head as if he was looking for the most comfortable spot for his face there, making it very clear that he didn’t have any intention of going anywhere.

“Ok then stop complaining”

“And I like sleeping with you”

“Oh” Blaine exclaimed, being taken aback with Sam’s raw honesty, but when he recovered he put his own hand on Sam’s forearm and gently caressed it. “I like it too”

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, the only motion in the room being Blaine’s hand gentle caressing Sam’s arm. The curly-haired boy was convinced the other was already asleep, so he jumped out of his skin when he suddenly broke the silence.

“I don’t know how you do it, but your hair still smells so good” Sam said, his voice slurred with alcohol and sleep and he inhaled deeply and let Blaine’s essence intoxicate him.

“Goodnight, Sammy” Blaine said as he lightly laughed at his friend’s crazy words, though it got him wondering when had Sam ever smelled his hair before.

“Night, B. I love you” Sam said, before placing a gentle kiss behind Blaine’s ear and effectively falling asleep.

“I love you too” Blaine whispered, breathing deeply more than a couple of times as he tried to will his heart to go back to its normal pace.

**********

A while later Sebastian made his way to the cell the inseparable duo had picked for themselves –on the first floor, by the way, away from everyone else– with a tray in his hands filled with two plates full of the dinner they had all had in the common room. But just the silence that came from inside the cell was enough to alert Sebastian that its occupants might very well be asleep.

The image he found when he entered still managed to surprise him: the two boys were fast asleep, both of them laying on the same bed, with Sam being all wrapped around Blaine’s smaller frame while the latter lovingly held into his arms.

With a smile at the sweetness of the scene, and an inner voice saying _I knew it_ inside of his head, Sebastian silently left the tray on the desk, in case they got hungry later, and promised himself he was definitely going to have a serious talk with his friend Blaine in the morning –and maybe, only maybe, he would keep what he had seen a secret until then.


	11. Chapter 11

Sam woke up with a groan at the huge headache he was sporting. It took him a whole minute to connect with reality and be aware of his surroundings, something that usually happened when… yeah, that’s right, he had a hangover. Damned vodka, he remembered. And then everything else came to him in a rush. Something not that surprising, considering that he was still spooning Blaine, in the extremely narrow bunk bed they had shared all night, clinging to him as if there was no tomorrow.

Blushing noticeably about the liberties the alcohol had made him take with his friend, he carefully let go of the smaller boy and separated himself from him as much as the lack of space would let him –which was not more than a couple of inches–, trying to give himself some space to think. He contemplated leaving Blaine’s bed altogether and climbing onto his own, but that would made it look like as if he had done something wrong he needed to be ashamed of, and that wasn’t the case. Or was it?

He had drunk, a lot, yes. Enough to make him do things he would have never gather the courage to do. But not enough to forget about them. He clearly remembered everything he had told Blaine. Had he really said he was pretty? Well, he was, he had always thought that about his petite friend. But telling him was so out of place!

And kissing him? What the hell had gotten into Sam to do something like that? And yeah, okay, it had not been much more than a touch of lips, but what if Blaine hadn’t stopped him? How far away would they have gone? He felt so confused he almost felt like screaming at the top of his lungs. Yes, he always got overly affectionate when drunk. But that usually meant hugs, caresses, even playful kisses on the cheek. But real kisses?

He was not going to pretend he had never thought about kissing Blaine’s lips before. Ever since he had guessed about Blaine’s crush on him, he had wondered more than once what it would be like to take his friendship with Blaine one step further and turn it into something else. But that had always been hypothetical, right? It didn’t mean he wanted for it to happen, just that he was curious about how it would be.

But lately… ever since all the hell broke loose and he discovered that Blaine had remained by his side… He couldn’t deny that this new Blaine, this action hero he had quickly become, this superman who always had the answers for everything and who would take care of everyone as if it was his duty, was making Sam see him in a different light. Blaine had meant the world to him even before, so would it be so crazy to think he might be developing feelings for him? Different feelings that the ones he had always had for that wonderful human being? He had even felt his insides churn with jealousy when he had thought Blaine was still thinking about Kurt, for God’s sake!

Blaine, in his sleep, chose that moment to turn around, and Sam’s heart doubled its pace when he rolled completely over and ended up facing Sam, so close but not touching, just as they had done when they were talking the night before. He looked so peaceful and relaxed, everything he had not been since it all started. And Sam felt a sudden rush of protection towards the other boy, a need to have him calm and content like that every day. And before he knew what he was doing, his knuckles were gently brushing the skin of his cheek.

But no, Sam stopped himself, removing his hand from Blaine’s face before the latter would wake up. No, it couldn’t be. He was just confused: the situation they were living in was very complicated and every little thing got magnified to the point of making people think and feel things they wouldn’t in their normal world. He was probably just grateful for everything Blaine had done for him, and the admiration and devotion he felt for the other boy were being clearly misunderstood. They were closer than ever, yeah, more than he would have ever thought it was possible to feel with a friend, but that was all it was: a friendship. A very meaningful and deep and special friendship; but a friendship nonetheless.

Besides, why did he have to assume Blaine had feelings for him? Yeah, he knew he had confessed to have a crush on him during the guilty pleasures week –had it only been a few weeks ago?–, but for all he knew that could be merely some physical attraction. He had stopped him last night when Sam had tried to deepen the kiss after all, right? Although the way that he looked at him sometimes, how he blushed whenever Sam was extra affectionate with him, and how he needed to make sure Sam was alright every second of the day… And the fact he had been alone and risked his own life for two entire weeks just to keep Sam alive, even if he didn’t know if he was ever going to wake up…

But that wasn’t even the point. On the contrary, if Blaine was having more than friendly feelings towards him all the more reason not to take advantage of them when he wasn’t even sure of how he was feeling. The last thing he wanted was to hurt him, and he owed him to protect him, even from him, after everything Blaine had done for him.

But above all, if something was stopping Sam from giving it a try, that was the moment they were living. It was absolutely the worst of times to be thinking about romance, to look for more complications and more reasons for them to worry. And… if he opened his heart for Blaine and then something happened to him… he didn’t even want to think about it. Because he knew he wouldn’t survive.

Sam watched his best friend sleep for a few minutes, his face almost touching Sam’s shoulder, and he couldn’t help noticing how beautiful he was. None of the things he had said just a few hours ago were lies: he loved Blaine’s gorgeous eyes, and his incredible smile could really light up a whole room, especially when he ended up laughing wholeheartedly and he scrunched his nose in such an adorable way. And those lips… what he would give to kiss them again…

But he was not going to. He had to be sensible in this and do what was best for both of them. Maybe he could even pretend he didn’t remember about their kiss and Blaine wouldn’t try to talk about it. Maybe he would be able to repress his feelings, whatever they were, and things could stay as they were. Yeah, he could do that. In a couple of days they wouldn’t even remember about that.

“Are you watching me sleep?” Blaine’s suddenly whispered, so softly that Sam wondered for a second if he had just imagined it, given how Blaine’s eyes were still closed.

“Yeah, you wish” Sam answered, in the most playful tone he could muster, given the turmoil of emotions swirling in his head at the moment.

“Aaaargh” Blaine groaned, as he turned on his back and used his hand to shield his eyes. “My head is going to explode”

“I know the feeling, buddy” Sam answered with a chuckle.

“Getting drunk was like the worst idea you’ve ever had” Blaine reproached him, but one look at the smile that was breaking into his lips told Sam he was only joking.

“You didn’t think that last night” Sam answered, gathering all his strength just to be able to sit up.

“Yeah, well, I’m a bit slow sometimes” Blaine answered, furiously rubbing his eyes as if he was trying to get the sleep off them.

“Stop that or you’ll get your eyes off their sockets” Sam warned him, gently grabbing one of his wrists to stop him. “And get your pants off”

“What?” Blaine practically yelled, and he jumped from his lying position with such impulse that he hit the top bed with his head. “Ouch, shit!”

“Be careful” Sam said, comfortingly rubbing the top of Blaine’s head as he tried hard not to laugh. He marveled how just one minute with Blaine was enough to put his mind and feelings at rest and he could feel at ease again. It would be so easy to fall in love with him in other circumstances… “What I meant is that I need to see how your leg is doing and change your bandage again, and your pants are so skinny that is too difficult to lift them”

“Well, it will have to do” Blaine answered with an implicit _duh_ in his voice as his cheeks turned into a deep shade of red that only made him more adorable to Sam’s eyes.

But no, Sam, stop that trail of thought, he reprimanded himself internally. He is only your friend and he is going to remain that way.

“Really, Blaine?” Sam asked, amused at Blaine’s sudden modesty. He probably remembered perfectly about the kiss after all… but Sam just wanted to help, and they had changed in front of the other a thousand times before, right? “At this stage of the game?”

“Alright” Blaine relented with a sigh, knowing it was ridiculous to suddenly feel embarrassed when Sam obviously just wanted to take care of him.

Sam took pity on him and left the bed while Blaine got off his pants to give him some privacy while he rummaged through the bag he had left the night before on the top bed, looking for the bandages and the alcohol he had packed. Once he had them and he crouched again to sit on the bottom bed, he refrained himself from making any comment when he realized Blaine had obeyed, but was awkwardly covering himself with his pillow while trying to act casual about it. Sometimes he was so adorable it was almost painful, Sam thought as he carefully picked Blaine’s leg and brought it to his lap so he could take the bandage off and have a good look at it.

“This is going to sting a little” Sam warned him as he soaked some gauze with the alcohol and very carefully cleaned the wound with it once he had uncovered it.

“It’s okay” Blaine immediately reassured him, even if he was not able to stop a wince of pain every now and then, as his wound was still quite tender.

“This is an interesting color your leg is turning into” Sam joked, inwardly wincing himself at the massive bruising at Blaine’s leg, wishing, not for the first time, that he could trade places with him and being the one with such an injury just so he could spare the other boy.

Silence fell upon them as Sam worked on the wound, overly aware of the tension present between them. Sam’s faith that they could just ignore what had happened was vanishing by the minute, and he unconsciously wished Blaine would bring it up, just so they could put it behind them. Fortunately, his wishes were about to come true.

“Listen… about last night…” Blaine shyly started, taking advantage that Sam couldn’t look at him because he was busy, but he stopped himself, apparently not being able to find the correct words.

“Yes, I was meaning to talk to you about that too” Sam tried to help him, even if it was with a lie. “Please, never let me drink so much again, I was so over the line”

“No, it’s…” Blaine tried to say, but now that Sam had started talking, it seemed like he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. Did I make you feel uncomfortable?” he said in a rush, not being able to decide who was feeling more uncomfortable at the moment.

“Em… no” Blaine immediately denied, too overwhelmed with Sam’s momentum to say anything else.

“No? Ok, great. Phew, I was worried that was going to come between us” Sam said with an awkward smile as he raised his gaze for a second and tried to decipher the sentiment behind Blaine’s blank expression. “Then let’s just forget about it, okay? ‘Cause… you know, something like that would be like the worst idea ever in a time like this, right?”

“Right” Blaine agreed without much enthusiasm, and if he didn’t know any better, Sam would have thought he seemed terribly disappointed. But he ignored it. He was doing that for the sake of both of them, after all. “Of course”

“No hard feelings?” Sam asked, as the last thing he wanted was to hurt Blaine in any way or to damage their precious friendship.

“No, of course not” Blaine answered, even managing to smile a little, though it clearly didn’t reach his eyes.

“You’re the sweetest thing” Sam answered with a relieved smile and then, before he was able to stop himself, he kissed Blaine’s cheek. Great, Sam, he mentally admonished himself, perfect way to show him you don’t want things to change.

Now he being the one to blush –even though Blaine hadn’t said anything, probably because he was too shocked for words– Sam quickly stood up and packed everything up on his backpack again, more like to have something to do than anything else and to give Blaine time to get dressed again. He hated to think there could be any kind of awkwardness between them, and he decided to do an extra effort to act normal until they forgot about what had happened.

“Gosh, I’m starving!” he exclaimed casually. “Well, not really, but I guess we should have something to eat, right? I bet someone is already up and getting some breakfast ready. Care to investigate with me?”

“Sure” Blaine answered, and he sounded so deflated that Sam’s heart broke at the more than probable fact he had been the one causing that.

“You okay?” Sam honestly asked, kneeling in front of his friend to look at him, as he hadn’t moved from his position yet and he was very much hidden under the top bed.

“Yeah, I’m just hungover” Blaine immediately reassured him with a little smile that didn’t convince Sam in the least, though he decided to let it go.

“Right, of course” Sam answered with a forced chuckle as he stood up and offered his hand to his friend to help him stand. “Ready for a piggyback ride downstairs?”

“No, you don’t have…” Blaine tried to dismiss him, but Sam was feeling guilty enough to pass on the chance of doing something for him, as insignificant as it was.

“As a thank you for always being such a wonderful and understanding friend” he insisted, his heart fluttering with happiness when he was finally able to elicit an honest smile from his friend this time, as small as it may be.

“Alright” Blaine relented with a playful roll of his eyes, jumping on Sam’s back so he could use him as transportation.

As effortlessly as the day before, Sam carried Blaine all the way downstairs in absolute silence. Whether it was because of the headache they both had or because of the awkward tension between them, they weren’t sure. But whatever it was, it didn’t show up on their faces, as not one of the people gathered in the dining room seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary when they arrived.

“Well, look who’s up” Kitty exclaimed as she watched Sam carefully lowering Blaine to the floor and helping him on the nearest chair, between Sebastian and himself.

“About time!” Tina added, looking amusedly at the two youths who were looking at the food in front of him as if they were trying to decide what would sit better on their upset stomachs.

“Do you have to speak so loudly?” Sam asked before he could stop himself, and Blaine discreetly nudged him –no one was supposed to know they had vodka and they hadn’t share it with the rest, right?

“Why do you look as if you have a hangover?” Puck asked, looking quizzically at the pair.

“It’s just your imagination. How the hell were we supposed to get drunk?” Sam answered, and Blaine chocked on his coffee at how nonchalant Sam sounded even if he was lying.

“You okay, Blaine?” Puck asked with an amused expression as Sam slapped Blaine’s back as the latter coughed.

“Yeah, the coffee just went on the wrong pipe” Blaine tried to justify himself, but he wasn’t as good as Sam in finding excuses and he was very aware of how tense and nervous he sounded.

“Something happened last night and we want to know exactly what” Puck insisted with a devilish grin as he looked at both boys, and by the different expressions on their faces it was very obvious it would be much more efficient to attack on the shorter one. “Is that a hickey on your neck, Blaine?”

“What?” both Sam and Blaine exclaimed as they jumped –Sam looking desperately for something at Blaine’s neck as the latter tried to cover it–, before realizing, too late, that it was impossible for Blaine to have any love marks just with the chaste kiss they had shared and that they had fallen right into Puck’s trap.

“Oh my God, I was just kidding, but your faces spoke volumes about…” Puck started while trying hard not to laugh, but Blaine interrupted him while willing his cheeks to stop blushing.

“Puck, please, it’s very early and we just woke up, so if you could please…”

“Shut the fuck up?” Sam intervened, not so kindly.

“Oh, they even finish each other’s lines!” Puck exclaimed with a chuckle, though one look at Sam’s angry face told him the blond had had enough of that. “Ok, ok, I’ll be shutting up now”

“You better” Sam warned him as he grabbed a piece of toast and tried to eat it without showing how much he didn’t feel like eating.

Slowly conversation started again, as everybody could easily see neither Blaine nor Sam were in the mood for joking and speculation about their relationship. Sebastian, though, was still looking for answers and he waited until no one was paying them any attention to lean onto Blaine and whisper in his ear.

“Did you have a good sleep?” Sebastian asked with a wink.

“Yes, I did” Blaine answered with a confused expression, not understanding where that question was coming from –as he was completely unaware Sebastian had seen them in a pretty revealing position as they slept the night before.

“I bet you were so comfy and warm” Sebastian continued even when the confusion on Blaine’s face kept increasing.

“Umm… yeah?”

“Don’t you have anything you’d like to share with me? With your pal?”

“Not really”

“Come on, we’re friends here!” Sebastian said, grabbing on Blaine’s arm to shake him imploringly. “You know you can tell me anything!”

“Mmm… ok, thanks, I’ll keep that in mind” Blaine answered with an awkward smile as he, like Sam, tried to eat something even if it was the last thing he felt like doing.

“Well, we were going to investigate the other blocks” Mike explained. “You have breakfast and we will talk later”

“Oh, I was wondering…” Blaine started in his usual impeccable manners. “If we could organize something like… a training camp”

“What’s that?” Mike asked, more than a little curious.

“Well, I know some of us don’t really know how to fight those walkers” Blaine added, talking about _us_ because he didn’t want to make anyone feel like he was judging them. “I thought maybe we can practice how to do it, share our different experiences, so when the time comes we’ll all be ready to fight”

“I think it’s an excellent idea” Mike answered because, even if he wasn’t one of the ones who needed more help, he wanted everyone to be able to defend themselves. “Let’s all meet in the playground in a while, after we’ve investigated those other blocks. Coming, Puck?”

“Yes, yes, I’m coming” Puck answered as he and some others stood up to follow Mike, but before he went, he bended over to whisper something in Sam’s ear. “Don’t you think you got me, Evans, I know you got plastered somehow last night and I’m not even going to ask what happened after that”

“Good” Sam answered in a cocky tone, keeping a straight face even if he was aware of how Puck had guessed practically everything that had happened last night.

“Though the fact you two felt the need to find a room on a different floor than everyone else speaks for itself, you know” Puck joked as he started to walk away, convinced he had won until something hard hit him in the head and he turned around to discover Sam had thrown an apple at him. “Ouch!”

“Sorry” Sam faked-apologized as Sebastian and Trent openly laughed and followed him.

That left Blaine and Sam alone at the table –there were other people in the room, but far away and distracted enough so they were out of earshot– as they continued pretending to be hungry, even if there wasn’t any need anymore. Sam noticed Blaine’s silence, which could be easily justified by the more than probable headache he was sporting, but there was something in his eyes that told Sam there was more to it.

“You’re very quiet” Sam tentatively commented.

“Am I?” Blaine answered, kind of distractedly.

“Yeah. Are you sure you’re alright?”

 _Was he alright?,_ Blaine asked himself. Of course he wasn’t. His head hurt, his leg hurt and now also his heart hurt. But it was not like he was telling Sam that, right? Not when he had made it perfectly clear that there was and there would be nothing between them. Not when that kiss had meant nothing to him.

“Yes, I’m alright” Blaine simply answered, not even raising his gaze from his plate because he didn’t want Sam to read his eyes, as he usually did.

“I know they were being a bit of a nuisance, but…” Sam tried to apologize in behalf of his friends, thinking it was maybe that what had gotten Blaine so pensive.

“It’s alright. They’re just kidding, anyway. No matter what they think, we know nothing happened, right?” Blaine asked, sounding a bit more sarcastic than he had intended. After all, he didn’t want to be angry at Sam: it was not his fault if he didn’t reciprocate Blaine’s feelings.

“That’s right” Sam answered with a smile, apparently oblivious to Blaine’s tone.

Sam tried to entice his friend in some small conversation as they finished their breakfast and, after a good while trying, Blaine started opening more to him and even managed to smile whenever Sam joked. Maybe not everything was lost, after all.

**********

When all the others came back from the other blocks, they recruited everyone and went out to the playground, taking advantage it was a sunny day, in spite of the cold. Sam carried Blaine outside on his back in that way that was becoming second nature to them, and Blaine was surprised when he saw Tina following them while carrying a chair –which undoubtedly Sam had asked for her to bring.

“What’s this?” Blaine asked when Sam lowered him to the floor and made him sit on the chair Tina had just left there.

“A chair” Sam petulantly answered as he put a hand on Blaine’s shoulder and pushed him down when the latter tried to stand up.

“I meant what is it doing here?”

“Well, you can be here during the training, you can even be in charge of it if you want to, but you’re doing that from your chair”

“No, Sam, I…” Blaine tried to protest, but once again Sam firmly kept him from standing up through the grip on his shoulder.

“It’s not open for debate” Sam concluded, as he tried not to chuckle at Blaine’s indignant expression.

“Oh, just like that?” Blaine protested, suddenly very aware of how everyone was looking and smirking at them.

“Exactly like that” Sam agreed as he patted Blaine’s shoulder. “Since you can’t take care of yourself I’m going to do it for you. I can’t trust you, just like you didn’t trust me yesterday”

“And I’m sorry, I’ve told you a thousand times already” Blaine apologized, obviously still feeling guilty about how hurt Sam had been that he hadn’t been honest with him about how painful his injury really was the day before.

“And I’ve forgiven you. But that doesn’t mean I can’t take a little revenge, right? From now on I’m change of your body” Sam said, not really aware of how inappropriate his choice of words had been.

“Oh, Evans, I didn’t know you liked to play it so rough” Puck intervened, eliciting a few laughs around him.

“Shut up, Puckerman” Sam protested before turning to his best friend again. “You know what I meant”

“I know what you meant” Blaine reassured him, though the slight tint of red in his cheeks revealed what he had thought about Sam’s words too. “And you’re in luck today, I’m even going to obey you. You know, as a payment for lying to you”

“You promise?”

“Cross my heart”

“Did you cross your fingers?”

“I didn’t”

“Good” Sam answered as he smiled proudly and got lost in Blaine’s now warmer eyes for a second.

“Well, if you two lovebirds are done, we should get started” Puck intervened, making the other two remember there were more people in the world aside of them.

“Ok, so does everybody have a weapon with them?” Blaine asked, trying to ignore how hard he was blushing, as everybody got their guns or knives on their hands. “Great. You always have to keep them with you, always, at all times”

“You never know when you might need them, even if you think you’re totally safe” Sam added, remembering how he had been surprised by walkers more than once when he thought there was no danger.

“The more important thing you have to remember is that you can’t hesitate. Ever. If you do that, and you’re alone, you’re dead” Blaine explained implacably.

A collective gasp went amongst the less experienced of the bunch at Blaine’s harsh words.

“Well, you don’t need to put it like that” Artie said with a nervous chuckle, as he was not used to Blaine being so blunt and it had really disconcerted him.

“Yes, I do, Artie, because I need you all to understand that” Blaine tried to defend himself. He didn’t want to scare anybody, but it was important for them to understand how serious the situation was.

“Listen to him, Artie, he knows what he’s talking about” Sam immediately defended him, having seen Blaine in action too many times, which elicited a small smile from the curly-haired guy.

“We know you do” Mike added. “We’ve seen what you can do and what you know about how to confront them. And that’s what we need to learn and hope you can teach us”

“Well, Sam, Sebastian and Trent have also been out there” Blaine reminded them, as he was absolutely not the only one who knew how to defend himself. “I’m sure we can all show you a few things you need to learn so we can all be as safe as possible”

“We’d love to” Sebastian immediately agreed, sending a grateful smile towards Blaine for his trust in him.

“The most important thing you have to remember is this: you need to forget they were people once” Blaine seriously reminded them, as he clearly remembered how much it had affected him when he killed his first walker, or when he had to finish Bree off. “They’re not anymore, and pitying them is only going to bring you trouble”

“That’s the hardest part” Marley lamented, and Blaine nodded understandingly at her.

“I know, but it can save your life or the life of someone you love” Blaine commented as his glance turned unconsciously towards Sam before he could stop himself, though he immediately recovered and kept talking to his peers. “Anyway, let’s get some practice done”

They spent the whole morning receiving wise advices from Blaine as well as Sam, Sebastian and Trent, as they had been the ones who had been forced to fight the most before making it to the prison, and even Mike, Kitty or Puck, who seemed to be very skilled too, listened avidly and tried to learn from the others as much as they could. They all practiced with their knives on some basketballs they found –to which Puck actively protested until he convinced the others to leave at least one of them in a good state to play– and learnt how to use the guns. When he was sure it was safe to try, Blaine repeated the procedure he had used with Sam and opened the fence for a couple of walkers that had been wandering around to enter, so they could practice with them. And he was glad to see the results were more than satisfactory.

It wasn’t until they moved to the dining room for lunch again when Mike and Puck decided to share with the rest what they had found in their prior investigation around the prison.

“We found the infirmary and there are a lot of bandages and alcohol and things like that, but there weren’t many medicines” Mike explained with a frustrated sigh, as he had been hoping to find some of those.

“The armory was more than interesting, though” Puck added with a mischievous grin. “Free guns for everyone and lots of ammunition. We won’t have to worry about that anymore!”

“And did you find any food?” Brittany asked.

“Not really” Mike lamented. “We only found rotten meat and vegetables that we won’t be able to use. There was hardly any canned food”

“That means we will have to get out and bring some, right?” Sebastian suggested.

“Definitely” Mike agreed. “And as soon as possible. There’s hardly anything left from what we brought with us”

“Maybe we should go out today” Sam suggested. “There’s no reason to wait, right?”

“I don’t think there is any rush” Blaine contradicted him casually –though the real reason for delaying it was that he knew they would never let him go with them with his injured leg.

“We’re really short of supplies” Unique added. “I say the sooner the better”

“Ok, then it’s decided” Mike agreed. “We’ll leave as soon as we finish eating. We don’t need for all of us to go, but everybody who wants to come is welcome”

Everybody agreed that it was the most sensible plan –except for Blaine. Blaine sighed as his heart broke at the idea of letting Sam go outside without him to protect him. For the first time.

**********

Sam was at his cell/room, getting his backpack empty to fill it with whatever food they might find, and getting his gun and his machete ready, when Blaine limped his way to the bars door and sighed at the sight of Sam getting ready to leave.

“You shouldn’t be walking on that leg” Sam immediately admonished him, knowing it was him without even looking up, though he did it in a warm tone because he could feel the worried mood his friend was in. “Especially up the stairs”

“I want to go with you” Blaine said, his voice breaking at the answer he knew he was going to get.

“You can’t come with us, you can hardly walk” Sam reminded him with a sympathetic glance as he turned to look at him.

“I can walk” Blaine assured him, as he made his way into the cell to show Sam, although he ended up failing miserably when he couldn’t stop a notorious limp.

“I’m not risking you getting injured even further, now that your leg is just starting to heal”

“Sam…”

“I’m going to be alright, okay?” Sam said as he rested a comforting hand on Blaine’s shoulder, immediately guessing Blaine’s biggest fear. “You don’t have to look after me all the time”

“If something happened to you…” Blaine tried to explain, but his voice faltered before he could even begin.

“Nothing is going to happen” Sam tried to reassure him, cupping one side of his neck and jaw so he would look at him. “You trained me, remember? I learnt from the best”

“I wish I could go with you” Blaine answered, and he seemed so close to tears that Sam couldn’t stand it any longer and carefully wrapped him in his arms.

“I wish you could come with me too” he whispered in his ear as he squeezed him as strongly as he dared to his chest. “But hey, it’s time for you to get some rest and let the others do something for a change! You’ve earned it”

“Be sure to come back” Blaine begged, his voice shaking with emotion.

“Of course” Sam promised, breaking the embrace to look at him but keeping his hands on Blaine’s shoulders to keep the contact for a while longer. “Where else would I get one of those million-dollar-smiles of yours?” he asked as he tenderly pinched Blaine’s cheek until he finally elicited a small smile on the smaller boy. “That’s better”

Blaine didn’t answer, and this time it was him who took Sam into his arms for an embrace that lingered, as neither one of them seemed ready to separate. It was the first time they were going to separate for more than a minute since everything started and, on top of that, Sam was going to be in danger. It was almost more than Blaine could manage at the moment, he thought as he buried his face in the crook of Sam’s neck.

“By the way, your eyes are really pretty” Sam said, trying to find a way to lighten the mood a bit for Blaine’s sake, and he had to smile as Blaine predictably let go of him in surprise so he could look at his face.

“What?” he asked, looking at him with the most confused expression.

“You asked me to tell you that when I wasn’t drunk, right? So there you go, you have gorgeous eyes” Sam answered with a shy shrug of shoulders.

“Emmm… thank you” Blaine answered, blushing furiously as Sam chuckled at him.

“I’ll see you later” Sam promised –as he refused to say goodbye– before planting a sweet comforting kiss on Blaine’s cheek and leaving the room without looking at him again, afraid to lose it if he had to look at the pain in his eyes for one more second.

Blaine waited until Sam was long gone before he let a tear fall, and then he let himself fall on his bed, his heart aching with the possibility that something could go wrong. He wasn’t sure if he was just worrying excessively, as he usually did when it came to Sam, or it was a real bad feeling in his gut what was keeping him from breathing normally.

**********

A group formed by Sam, Mike, Puck, Kitty, Santana, Brittany, Trent and Ryder carefully made their way outside –as Sebastian closed the fence door behind them– and took the bus that had been left there the day before. That way they could go further, to the biggest supermarket they could think of, and could load it with as many things as they found.

As Santana drove towards their destiny, the biggest supermarket in town, Sam could feel a curious vibe amongst the youngsters: they were obviously experimenting fear and anxiety about what they would find, but Sam could tell they were also kind of excited. He guessed that, now that they felt they knew how to act, they were kind of hoping to show everyone else and themselves that they could do it, that they could be trusted and that they were an important part of the group. And, even if Sam couldn’t blame them, he wished some of them had more experience on what fighting walkers really was and were a bit more afraid. As Blaine told him when he woke up, fear and prudency were almost the same thing. And they would surely need to be prudent.

Santana carefully parked the bus just at the entrance on the place, so it would be easier for them to carry everything they found inside. There seemed to be no walkers around, though all of them make sure to have their guns in their hands unless they were needed.

Sam opened the door to the place as Puck covered him, but again they found no resistance. They all entered after Sam and couldn’t stop some cheers and laughs at everything they could see: tones of food, drinks, tools and even medical supplies –although, of course, no medicines again–. There was a bit of a weird smell, no doubt from all the perishable products that had gone bad, but even then it seemed too good to be true, and they knew they wouldn’t even be able to take everything there was.

Without hesitation, they started taking everything they needed to the bus, carefully planning what would be more urgent and necessary for their everyday life –they could always come back in a few weeks if it was necessary–. Brittany even had the idea to pick up some seeds, as maybe they could plant them on the playground and get something out of them.

Ryder took a look at the customer’s service booth –as you never know what you might find in there– and was rewarded with a set of keys that probably would open the warehouse. He knew the bus was practically full with everything they had already carried there, but maybe there was something in there they hadn’t been able to find yet.

“Hey, guys!” he happily called them as he walked to the door he imagined was the warehouse. “Anyone want to see what else we can find in there?”

Everyone was too busy still carrying things outside to acknowledge him, and Ryder just shrugged as he decided to investigate himself. He decidedly walked to the door, with a false feeling of security the lack of walkers until then had given him, and didn’t even think as he got the key into the lock and turned it.

Sam was just coming from outside as he saw Ryder about to open a door, without thinking about if there could be something behind it and without his gun that he had probably left somewhere to carry the food outside. But Sam was not that careless, and he felt his heart beginning to race with trepidation as he ran towards his friend.

“Ryder, no!” he screamed, hoping Ryder would realize about his mistake and lock the door again.

But it was too late: as soon as Ryder opened the door, dozens of walkers that were just waiting against it to be released came out as in a stampede before the boy could even understand what was happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops! Sorry!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for the amazing amount of support I'm getting with this story. Those of you who know me a little know I've been struggling with it a lot, and that it's being really difficult for me to write an action story, so your support and reasurrance means the world to me. To know you're enjoying it and that you take the time to let me know every time makes it all worth it! So thank you, so so much!
> 
> And oh, BTW, isn't it funny how everyone is so sure Ryder will be the first death? Who knows? XD

Sam got his gun out of the waistband of his jeans and shot at the walker that had Ryder already at his reach, fortunately hitting it in the head and making him fall before he could hurt the boy. That gave Ryder half a second to react, in which he fiercely grabbed his knife and attacked another one of the walkers, but he was too slow and unskilled and he needed more than one blow to effectively put it down, so the other walkers kept coming closer and closer to him.

“Guys!” Sam yelled without stopping his shooting, hitting the target more often than not so he was keeping most of the walkers from reaching his friend from the distance, as Ryder fought desperately for his life. “We need help!”

All the others came running from outside at Sam’s desperate plea, and were horrified to see the situation the youngest of them was in. They started shooting too as they kept getting near, but they were not as good with their guns as Sam was –some of them had never used a gun before–, so they were not finishing the walkers off as efficiently as they would have wanted.

Sam could see Ryder was getting exhausted and not much progress was being made, as more and more walkers kept coming his way and he was hardly able to keep them away with his knife. He wanted to go to him and help him from his side, but he was afraid that if he stopped shooting for a second one of the walkers would finally reach him.

But he didn’t have any option: he had to get to him and get them away from him, even if it was only for a second, so they could escape. Reassured at the fact that the others would keep shooting as he ran, he took a quick decision and ran towards the place where the walkers were starting to corner Ryder against the wall.

As he ran, he saw that two of the walkers were about to attack on Ryder at the same time, and it was impossible that the boy, untrained and tired as he was, could take care of both of them. There were other walkers between Sam and Ryder, and the blond didn’t have a clean shot from where he was standing, so his only option would be to jump on the counter in front of him and trying to find the right angle to shoot from up there. Not hesitating, Sam didn’t even stop his dash and jumped, but unfortunately his feet slipped on some dirt on the floor and instead of going up, he ended falling bodily against the counter, hitting his side on the corner of it in a very painful blow that left him breathless for a second. Just a second. But it had been enough, and before he could straighten up he heard Ryder’s bloodcurdling scream as one of the walkers finally bit his shoulder.

As soon as Ryder, injured and defeated, stopped fighting the rest of the walkers were finally able to reach him, and Sam only had a second to find Ryder’s eyes, so full of pain and panic, before he was thrown to the floor and he disappeared under a pile of biters trying to get their piece. And when he stopped screaming almost instantly, Sam prayed that at least he would have died quickly and could not feel anything anymore.

Sam wasn’t aware of the screams of everybody else, some crying, some asking him to run, nor the way that Puck was grabbing Kitty around the waist as the petite cheerio fought desperately to escape and run to her friend’s help, even if there was nothing she could do anymore. It was not until Santana ran to him and grabbed his arm, desperately urging him to move as the walkers were now moving to them, that Sam got his feet moving and let himself be pulled back into the bus.

**********

It had come the time to have that pending conversation with Blaine, Sebastian had thought a while after the group left with the bus. He was trying to think of a way to approach his friend and get him to talk as he went up the stairs to his cell, where he was hoping to find him. He knew he had gone upstairs to say goodbye to Sam before he left, but when he failed to come back down after a good while, Sebastian had worried. He knew Blaine, at least he did once, and he knew how his friend always craved for loneliness when something was bothering him, and how he kept it all inside and pretended everything was fine until someone was stubborn enough to get it out of him. He guessed Sam was the one to do it more often than not, as Blaine was hardly ever alone when Sam was around, but he was not here at the moment –and he was probably the main reason why Blaine was actually exiled to his room–, so it was up to him to make sure little Blainey was alright. After all, Sebastian hadn’t volunteered to go with the others because he felt someone needed to look after Blaine, and he was more than willing to do that job.

“Knock knock” Sebastian jokingly said at the lack of a door to knock once he reached the cell and saw his friend was indeed there.

“Hey, Seb” Blaine answered from his place on the bed, where he was lying on his back, lazily contemplating the bunk bed on top of him.

“May I come in?” Sebastian asked, not wanting to impose with his presence if Blaine really needed to be left alone.

“Of course” Blaine politely answered, and he even sat up on the bed to show Sebastian he was indeed welcome.

“What are you doing here on your own? You okay?” Sebastian asked easily, as he and Blaine had been good friends once and communication had always flown easily between them.

“Yeah, I was just… resting, I guess” Blaine answered with a shrug of shoulders, not lying but not telling the entire truth either.

“Or worrying” Sebastian contradicted him with a fond smile.

“Yeah, that too” Blaine admitted with a chuckle.

“They’ll be alright” Sebastian tried to comfort him as he sat next to his friend and looked intently at him. “Sam will be alright”

“Yeah” Blaine answered with a hesitant nod, not even trying to deny who was he thinking about –that was Sebastian, after all, and he knew he could trust him. He was there for him, trying to make him feel better after all, right?

“Look, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to but…” Sebastian started, hesitantly, hoping Blaine wouldn’t think he was crossing a line. “You and Sam…”

“I can’t answer you that” Blaine answered with a sigh, looking kind of defeated.

“Ok, I said I’d respect it if you didn’t want to talk about it” Sebastian said, a bit disappointed he hadn’t gotten his friend to open up to him, before affectionately squeezing his thigh and starting to get up to give him some privacy.

“No, I didn’t mean that” Blaine immediately stopped him, grabbing his arm to make him stay at his side. “What I meant is… that I don’t know what’s happening between us. That’s what you were going to ask, right?”

“Yes”

“It’s complicated”

Sebastian sighed at the obvious mess his friend’s feelings were right then and he threw an arm around his shoulder to bring him to his side in a comforting gesture.

“Do you need a shoulder to cry on?” Sebastian offered with a sympathetic smile that Blaine gratefully reciprocated.

“It’s just… it’s the first time I can’t read what he’s thinking or feeling” Blaine confessed, frustrated at the fact he was not being able to decipher him like he usually did. “One minute he is all touchy and attentive and he kisses me and then…”

“He kisses you?” Sebastian interrupted him, because there was no way he was going to let something like that pass as casually as Blaine had tried to make it sound.

“Yeah, he kissed me last night” Blaine confessed after some hesitation, feeling like maybe he was betraying Sam’s trust but really needing to share it with someone. Besides, he knew he could trust Sebastian, he was not going to say anything. “But apparently only because he was drunk”

“Oh, so Puck was right and you had a little party up here last night!” Sebastian said, feigning to be offended even if his amused grin clearly belied his words.

“Ok, we did, but please don’t tell the others”

“Your secret is safe with me, Killer. So he kissed you and…”

“And I stopped him because I didn’t want it to be like that, you know? Not in a drunken moment”

“But you want it to happen” Sebastian spoke for him, reading his mind.

“More than anything” Blaine confessed, blushing slightly. “But this morning he kind of said it would be the worst idea ever”

“So you think he is not in the same place that you are?”

“That’s the thing, Seb” Blaine answered, his eyes so full of doubt it was almost painful. “I don’t really know”

“But you’re aware of how much like a couple you two act, right?” Sebastian tried to make him see. Because he didn’t know if Sam wanted to start something with Blaine, but his deep feelings for the small guy were more than obvious.

“Do we?” Blaine asked in utter surprise.

“Really?” Sebastian said, even more surprised at how naïve or oblivious Blaine seemed to be. “Everybody thinks you’re dating!”

“Great, that won’t weird Sam out at all” Blaine lamented as he covered his face with his hands and let his upper body fall on the bed again.

“Give him some credit, Blaine” Sebastian said as he removed Blaine’s hands from his face. “Maybe he just needs some time. We are in a very difficult situation, after all, and this is new for him, it’s comprehensible that he might have doubts”

“I can wait, I can give him all the time he needs if that’s problem. I’d just like to know how he feels” Blaine lamented, his deep sigh showing how frustrated he felt.

“Look, Blaine, you know him way better than I do, but… you really haven’t noticed how he looks at you?”

“How?” Blaine asked as he sat up again, looking intently at his friend with all the trust in the world, as he seemed to be way more aware of the situation than he was himself.

“Like you’re his whole universe” Sebastian explained with a smile as he noticed how Blaine’s eyes shone at his words. “You say you don’t know what he feels, but for me it’s pretty obvious how much you mean to him”

“I know he cares a lot about me, we’re the best of friends, but…”

“Look, if you’re asking for my opinion, he doesn’t see you only as a friend. But… maybe it’s him you should ask”

“I know” Blaine admitted, sighing again. “I’m… just too afraid about the answer”

“Why don’t you come downstairs with me?” Sebastian suggested, deciding to give the matter a rest because the last thing Blaine needed was to keep thinking about it. “Don’t stay here on your own, brooding over everything when you can be surrounded by people who cares about you while we wait for them to come back”

“Alright” Blaine easily agreed with a grateful smile as he stood up to follow his friend. He must have been going crazy, poor thing.

“Let me help you or Sam will have my hide if he finds out” Sebastian said as he took Blaine’s arm and threw it around his shoulders before he could refuse, knowing that carrying him on his back like Sam had done would be completely out of question.

“Thank you, Sebastian” Blaine said, smiling at his friend, and Sebastian knew he was referring to much more than just walking him downstairs.

“You’re welcome, Killer”

**********

Santana started the bus and got it running in a swift movement, as if desperate to put some distance between them and the place where they had just lost a friend. But the sound of her aggressive driving was the only thing that broke the silence on the vehicle.

Sam felt disconnected, like he was watching his friends from a distance instead of being there with them. He could see Kitty quietly sobbing a few seats in front of him, Puck keeping a hand on her shoulder as if he was afraid that by letting go of her she would fade away and they’d lose her, like they had lost Ryder. Brittany seemed to be in shock, quiet and immobile as she was, and Trent and Mike looked as if they were trying, and failing, to find the right words to say to make everyone feel better.

But there were no words that could make them turn back in time so they could save Ryder; so they could tell him not to open that door, so they could tell him to stay on the prison; so Sam could be more careful and not slip on that counter so he wouldn’t miss that shot. The shot that could have saved Ryder’s life.

Suddenly overcome by a rage and a grief he had never experienced before, Sam suddenly screamed and started hitting the backrest of the seats in front of him with the palm of his hands, not knowing another way of channeling his pain. He heard Kitty wincing at his sudden outburst, and he felt bad for a second about scaring her on top of everything, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. Just as he couldn’t bring Ryder back to life.

He felt two hands grabbing his biceps, he heard someone talking at his side, but he couldn’t decipher the words with all the racking he was creating. Only when Mike’s voice yelled in his ear, trying to make himself heard, Sam understood what he was saying.

“Sam, Sam! Stop it! You’re going to hurt yourself!” Mike yelled, shaking him in an attempt of getting some sense into him.

Sam breathed deeply four, five times, before he could bring himself to stop. He finally raised his glance and found everyone looking at him, their eyes filled with compassion and a hint of fear, and it was then when he finally connected with reality.

“It’s okay, Sam. It’s okay” Mike spoke like a mantra, carefully getting Sam to sit down again through the hands still keeping a grip in his upper arms.

Except it was not okay. And it would never be okay again.

“You’re bleeding” Mike tentatively said, signaling at Sam’s side once the latter seemed to have lost all the fight in him. “Did any of those…?”

“No, I hit the counter” Sam answered, almost in a whisper, noticing how Mike sighed in relief at his answer.

“Can I see it?” Mike asked, talking slowly and softly, as if talking to a wounded animal, almost as if he was afraid to awake the beast again.

Sam didn’t answer, but he lifted his sweater enough for Mike to see the wound, and the latter only inspected it for a second before breaking into a little smile.

“Thank God, it’s just a scratch, it’s not even bleeding anymore” he said, as he let Sam pull the sweater down again and watched as the blond lowered his head and rested his forehead against the backrest he had been hitting only a few seconds ago. “Sam, it was nobody’s fault”

“Mike” Sam said, raising a hand as a signal for him to stop as he looked pleadingly at him. “Please, don’t”

“Alright” Mike reluctantly agreed before sympathetically squeezing his shoulder and leaving him alone at the back of the bus as he wanted.

Sam watched Mike walk down the aisle to give him some space, and how the others took the hint and stopped looking at him to center on their own emotions. Because Sam knew that, in spite of how shitty he felt, he was not by all means the only one suffering.

He could see Kitty still crying in silence. Amongst the people on the bus Kitty was probably the one closer to Ryder, as the younger members of New Directions had really stuck together during the last year. He couldn’t imagine and was definitely not looking forward to Marley, Jake and Unique’s reactions when they knew. Or any of the others for that matter, as it would be a devastating blow to everyone to know they had lost one of them.

He didn’t know how they were going to get over something like that. Yes, they had lost a few people during the attack in the school, but… Ryder was a friend, not just some random student. And he had died just when they had started living the illusion that they were safe, only to remind them that they weren’t. And probably never would.

Sam could feel his eyes stinging with tears he refused to shed. He had failed everyone enough by not keeping them alive, they didn’t need a weak and crying mess on top of that. He needed to keep strong, to give them hope. Even if the only thing he wanted was to get to Blaine, bury his face in the curly-haired boy’s neck and cry until there were no more tears left in him.

**********

“Blaine, it’s your turn again” Artie took Blaine out of his reverie with an amused smile.

“Sorry” Blaine apologized, smiling embarrassedly, as he threw one of the UNO cards he had in his hands that they had found in the staff room.

He was not trying to be a nuisance, but he couldn’t stop getting abstracted as he worried about the fate of their friends. They had been gone for a long time now, and his worries just kept increasing with each passing minute. And he worried even more when he noticed he was not the only one fretting for them to return, as Tina and Unique had gone outside with the excuse of taking a walk, even if Blaine knew they were just waiting to see the bus arriving as soon as possible and opening the door for them.

And since his damned injured leg didn’t allow him to accompany them, Artie had taken pity on him and offered a game of UNO that Sebastian and Joe were quick to join. But he was so distracted that they had to call his attention every time it was his turn, and Blaine felt thankful that they were being so awesomely patient with him.

“Remind me again why you brought him downstairs” Artie said, turning to Sebastian as he smiled at Blaine to let him know he was only joking.

“So there would be someone who plays this stupid game even worse than me” Sebastian joked as he frowned at the amount of cards in his hand –only surpassed in quantity by Blaine’s.

“Good to know what you want me for” Blaine was able to joke, though it was quite evident his heart was not in it.

“What were you expecting? That I…” Sebastian answered, only to be interrupted by Blaine shushing him vigorously.

“Did you hear that?” Blaine asked, as he pricked up his ears. “I think they’re back”

Marley, who had been just hanging out with the rest of them in one of the other tables in the room, rushed to the window and was able to glimpse the bus’ frame making its way through the door of the fence, even though it was already pretty dark.

“Yes, they are back” she announced to everyone with a smile as she settled to wait for them.

It was only a minute later when the adventurous youngsters crossed the door and made their way into their refuge. But the expression on their faces and the tears in their cheeks immediately alerted the rest that something was seriously wrong.

“Sam!” Blaine practically yelled as he noticed the blood stain on his side, jumping from his seat and running to him, completely forgetting about his injured leg.

“What happened?” Sugar asked, her eyes full of fear.

“Where’s Ryder” Marley intervened, her voice shaking.

“We lost him” Sam said in a whisper as he gently moved Blaine aside and disappeared to the stairs before he could hear the others’ reaction.

But he heard them alright. He heard Marley’s negation scream and Unique’s sobs, he heard some blows as someone got into a rage as he had done in the bus. But he continued up the stairs, desperate to distance himself from all the pain –hardly able to deal with his own.

The scene downstairs was horrendous, as some people cried and embraced, others channeled their grief through blows and kicks to the wall and others just stood there, rooted to the floor, incapable of moving or saying anything.

Blaine was one of the latter group, and he looked around himself as if he didn’t know what to do or what to say. He wanted to comfort the others, to move, to cry, but he couldn’t react. Only when Mike walked to him and put a hand on his shoulder he raised his gaze from the floor and looked at him.

“Go to Sam, Blaine” Mike said, having been a witness to Sam’s desolation and knowing only Blaine would be allowed to take care of it. “He… he needs you right now”

Blaine just nodded, grateful for some directions as to what he could do to help the others. If Sam needed him, there was nothing that could stop him from going to help him.

“Oh, and he got injured” Mike said, and he rushed to explain when he noticed Blaine starting to get worked up about it. “It’s nothing serious, just a scratch and it wasn’t from a walker, but I thought you’d want to know”

“Thanks, Mike” Blaine was finally able to talk before Mike went to embrace Tina and he turned up to go to Sam.

Only one look into the cell broke Blaine’s heart as he saw the picture of grief Sam was right then, sitting completely unmoving on the bottom bed, almost as if it was a sad painting instead of a real scene. There was so much sorrow emanating for him that Blaine could almost touch it, and he only hesitated a second, in which he erased any possible trace of tears in his own face, before making his presence known.

“Sam?” Blaine whispered, not wanting to scare the other boy, who seemed pretty abstracted as he sat on the bottom bed. “Mike told me you were hurt”

“It’s nothing” Sam answered, without moving an inch nor lifting his gaze from the floor, so soft that Blaine had doubts he had not imagined it.

“Can I see it?” Blaine asked as he limped towards the other boy, but he knew he would need to insist when Sam remained unmoving. “Please?”

It must have been the insistence in his voice, or the fact that Sam knew he wouldn’t let go of it until he showed him, but in the end Sam just sighed and slowly removed his jacket and his sweater, revealing a deep scratch and some bruising on his side.

Blaine leant on Sam’s thigh to kneel at his side as gracefully as he could manage, given his injured leg, and he took a quick but thorough look at the wound. It was obvious Sam had hit something to get an injury like that, but Blaine refrained himself from asking. Fortunately, it didn’t look serious, but he felt they both would feel better if he took care of it and… fussed over the devastated young man for a bit.

“It doesn’t look too bad, but I will take care of it just in case, alright?” Blaine explained as he squeezed Sam’s thigh comfortingly before standing up to take the medical supplies Sam had left on the top bed just a few hours ago, when he had emptied his backpack –even if it felt like a lifetime ago.

“Ok” Sam answered, though he sounded as if he couldn’t care less about it.

Blaine sat at his side this time when he had grabbed everything he would need to clean Sam’s wound and motioned for him to straighten up so he could have better access to the wound.

“Rest your arm on my shoulder” Blaine ordered him, so Sam’s arm wouldn’t get in the way, and the latter immediately obeyed.

It hurt to see Sam acting so obediently, almost like he had lost his will, but Blaine could perfectly guess what was running through his mind in that moment.

“Sam, it wasn’t your fault” Blaine said while he cleaned Sam’s wound, reading his mind as usual, hoping against hope there was such a tangible way to heal Sam’s soul as there was to heal his body.

“I know” Sam answered too quickly, but the wince that crossed his face at Blaine’s words belied his real thoughts at the matter.

“No, you don’t know” Blaine contradicted him as he let go of the cloth and cupped Sam’s neck with his hands to make him look at him once and for all. “You were not in charge of these people, you know? Ryder decided to go, just like everyone else. You were not responsible for him, and no one blames you, except for you”

“Just… finish with the wound, please, I want to lie down for a bit” Sam asked him, implicitly begging for Blaine to let it go.

Blaine sighed but obeyed, knowing that antagonizing Sam in a moment like this wouldn’t help anyone. He carefully cleaned the wound with alcohol to make sure it wouldn’t become infected and then he decided it wouldn’t need to be covered, as it was not serious.

“That’s it, you’ll be fine” Blaine announced as he threw the cloth at the bin on the corner of the room from his place at Sam’s side.

“Thank you” Sam answered, and he was about to stand up to climb onto his own bed when Blaine stopped him with a hand to his knee.

“You can let go of it, you know?” Blaine said, stubbornly insisting for Sam to share his obvious pain with him. “You don’t have to pretend with me, Sammy”

Sam was about to snap at him, to tell him to mind his own business and storm out of the cell to look for a place only for himself. But one look at Blaine’s compassionate gaze, those golden orbs so filled with sympathy and love, was enough to break his defenses and before he knew it he was sobbing his heart out.

“That’s it” Blaine said as he quickly put his arms around his friend and brought him to his chest in a protective embrace. “I’m here, Sammy. I’ve got you”

Sam wasn’t unable to say a word because of the sobs making his whole body shake. He had buried his face on Blaine’s shoulder, and he knew he was wetting his shirt with his tears, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop, and Blaine didn’t seem to care. Blaine’s gentle caresses on the back of his head and the reassuring words he kept whispering in his ear were comforting him and at the same time they were making him cry even harder, knowing he didn’t need to feign with Blaine and that he would hold him in his arms for as long as he needed.

“I shouldn’t have left him alone” Sam lamented after a good while, his voice muffled on Blaine’s shoulder. “He was young and inexperienced, I should have been keeping an eye on him. I was supposed to keep him safe”

“Sam, he knew the risk he was taking when he decided to go, he was not your responsibility” Blaine answered, quickly erasing a tear on his own cheek before Sam could see it, because he needed to be strong for him.

“He just wanted to prove himself he could do it, what the hell did he know?” Sam exclaimed between sobs.

“Then it’s everybody’s fault that we failed to make him understand the reality of the situation. Not just yours” Blaine reminded him, also feeling more than a little responsible about the fact Ryder had judged himself qualified enough to go because of the training session he had organized.

“But I could have stopped it” Sam insisted, burying his face in the crook of Blaine’s neck, desperate for more contact. “If I had been only a little faster or if I hadn’t slipped…”

“You did everything you could, Sam” Blaine contradicted him as he squeezed the other boy more strongly to him, knowing Sam enough to know that was the truth, even if he still didn’t know what had happened. “You can’t ask yourself for more than that”

“I wanted to be a hero, like you are” Sam confessed, the sobs finally starting to diminish even if the sadness in his voice was just as palpable as before.

“I am no hero” Blaine immediately denied, his own heart filled with sorrow about the fact he had failed once again at keeping everybody safe.

“I wanted to take care of these people. I wanted you to be proud of me” Sam continued, confessing his most inner thoughts to the only person he knew he could trust them with.

“But I’m proud of you, Sam. Each and every day” Blaine answered, placing a kiss on Sam’s temple as his fingers got lost between the blond bangs in the back of the latter’s neck.

“Why?” Sam asked, not able to believe it.

“Why?” Blaine repeated, breaking the embrace to cup Sam’s face in his hands to make him look at him, intent on making Sam understand and believe his words. “Sam, nobody would have woken from a coma and accept a situation like the one we’re living like you did! You didn’t break down for a second, you didn’t hesitate, you were only like _ok, let’s do it_ and look at everything you’ve managed until then!”

“Just because you were there to take care of me” Sam tried to dismiss the appraisal, but Blaine was having none of that.

“We take care of each other” Blaine contradicted him immediately. “I can’t even count how many times you’ve saved my life”

“What kind of world is this?” Sam lamented, very aware of the amount of times either him or Blaine had been dangerously close to dying. “What can we expect from this life?”

“I don’t know, Sam” Blaine admitted, joining their foreheads together in a gesture intended to make both of them feel better. “Maybe this is all we can hope for, maybe it will be better with time, I don’t know. What I do know is I don’t intent to find out without you”

“I need you, Blaine” Sam said as this time it was him cupping Blaine’s cheeks, their faces only inches apart. “I could never go on without you. Please, promise me you’re going to live”

“I promise to try my hardest, Sammy” Blaine answered, knowing it was the best he could offer if they wanted to be realistic.

“You’re the only thing that it’s good and beautiful in the world anymore, Blaine. Without you, it wouldn’t make sense to go on”

“Don’t say that”

“But it’s the truth, Blaine” Sam insisted, his thumbs gently caressing Blaine’s skin. “I could never go on without you. You’re everything to me”

The pain, the guilt, the comfort Blaine was offering to him and all the sentiment he could see in his golden eyes suddenly became too much, and Sam took advantage of the fact that his hands were cupping Blaine’s face to bring it to him until he could gently press his lips against those of the curly-haired boy, who apparently was too surprised to respond to the kiss and separated before it went any further.

“Sam, what are you doing?” Blaine asked, his eyes impossibly beautiful and huge with confusion and a hint of excitement he wasn’t able to hide, so Sam took it as a signal that it was alright and tried again to join their lips.

Blaine sighed in surrender and let Sam deepen the kiss, granting his tongue access to his mouth as the blond’s fingers buried themselves on the soft curls on the back of his head. Sam’s taste was intoxicating, and Blained moaned into his mouth before he was able to stop himself as his own arms moved to curl around Sam’s upper body. That seemed to give Sam the idea that his advances were appreciated, and before he knew it, the blond was gently pushing him down towards the mattress and fully climbing on top of him, the kiss never breaking for even a second.

“Sam, I thought you said…” Blaine tried to say against his lips, almost breathless, but Sam beat him to it.

“Blaine, please” Sam begged as he separated from him for a second and looked intently at the young man underneath him, his eyes so filled with pain and need and devotion that Blaine wouldn’t have possibly found it in here to stop him even if he had wanted to. “I need you” Sam repeated, sounding much more desperate this time.

Blaine’s only answer was to cup the back of Sam’s neck possessively to bring him down to him and capture his lips on his own again, letting his hands roam all along the vast territory that was Sam’s naked back, marveling at how his manly muscles tensed and relaxed as Sam’s arms moved as he touched him.

Sam broke the desperate kiss, only to trace a path of kisses down Blaine’s jaw and to his neck, where he took a moment to lick and suck on his delicious skin, his movements getting more frantic at each passing moment and driving Blaine crazy with desire. But his sweater quickly got in the way when Sam’s lips wanted to travel more to the south, and driven by a sudden urge for their skins to touch, he rolled them over as graciously as he could given the narrowness of the bunk bed and ended up straddling Sam’s hips.

Apparently Sam was as anxious to feel him as he was because as soon as Blaine was freed from his weight he rolled his sweater up, his fingers consciously brushing Blaine’s skin all along, until he got it off him and sat up, with Blaine still on his lap, to plant butterfly kisses along his chest as he held him possessively around his waist. Blaine put his arms around Sam’s neck as the blond’s perfect lips left a trace of pleasure on his skin, and he moaned with desire when he felt Sam’s tongue added to the mix.

“Please, don’t ever leave me” Sam begged with a whisper against his skin, and Blaine’s heart broke at how lost and broken he sounded after what he had experienced that day.

Wanting to make him feel better, Blaine didn’t move from his ferocious embrace but pushed Sam backwards to make him lie down again and followed him to kiss him, less desperately and more lovingly than before, letting all the love he felt for the taller boy flow between them through their mouths and their touches so he would know how loved he was.

Also wanting to taste Sam’s skin, Blaine broke the kiss and let his lips brush all the skin he found on his way down his chest, his hands avidly exploring that body he had dreamed with so many times.

“I won’t” Blaine whispered before lifting Sam’s arm above his head and bending to gently kiss the wound on his side he had just cleaned, with an implicit promise to always take care of him that made Sam tremble with emotion.

Unable to keep separated from those lips he was quickly becoming addicted to, Sam gently gripped Blaine’s chin and made him go all the way up again until he could kiss him again, getting lost in each other’s mouth as if there was no tomorrow. And when Blaine felt one of Sam’s hands moving to cup the roundness of his backside and the other one fumbling with the zipper on his pants, and Sam groaned indecently loud with desire into his mouth, he knew he was screwed.

**********

Blaine didn’t know how to feel as he lay on his bed, spent and clammy, with Sam’s arms strongly wrapped around him, his breath tickling him on the back of his neck as the blond spooned him. He was still trying to come to terms with what had happened only a few minutes ago. Only that morning Sam had apologized to him for kissing him and now they were entwined together, naked and sweaty, after having sex.

His heart had yet to stop fluttering, because this was Sam, the boy he had been in love with for ages, the best friend he had ever had, the person who got him better than anyone… And they had just given themselves to each other in the most complete and loving and passionate way. He had never thought something like that was even possible, and yet… it had happened. And it had been amazing, exactly how he had always pictured.

But his rational mind was telling him not to hope too much from it. That it probably was just two very close friends in pain and in a great need for comfort and physical contact. Just two people who cared deeply for each other and wanted to make the other feel better. It hadn’t been like that for him, at all, but had it been for Sam? Hadn’t he said just that morning that it would be a mistake to let something like that happen? Had he changed his mind or he had just let go of himself in a moment of weakness?

Just the thought that it was a real possibility broke Blaine’s heart, but he was too afraid to ask, terrified of the answer he could get. But everything had been so perfect and Sam had been so loving and attentive and caring and careful that it was not that difficult to hope it had meant as much to him as it had for Blaine, right?

“You okay?” Sam’s soft voice broke the silence of the room, making Blaine jump out of his skin at the unexpectedness of it, as he had been sure the blond was asleep by then.

Was he okay? What was he supposed to answer when he didn’t even know it himself? When Sam, like he usually did, seemed to be reading his mind and had sensed his discomfort without even being able to see his face and was holding him even more strongly because of that? When he knew Sam knew him and loved him that much, but maybe he wasn’t in love with him?

“We should probably get dressed” Blaine answered instead, half wanting to escape Sam’s arms that were making him feel so much, half wanting to stay between them forever.

“Are you cold?” Sam asked worriedly as he rubbed a hand vigorously up and down Blaine’s arm and then proceeded to cover them both with a blanket, never showing any intention of wanting to let go of the other boy.

“Yes, but it’s not only that. If someone gets up here…” Blaine said, because he didn’t think he could deal with that before he had been able to deal with himself.

“No one will” Sam assured him, strengthening his grip around Blaine’s waist in an attempt of getting him to relax.

“Or if… something happens and we need to run”

“Nothing will happen, someone is keeping guard, remember?” Sam tried to convince him, being able to feel Blaine’s turmoil of emotions even if he wasn’t able to understand it. “I just… I need to feel you tonight, B. Like this. Skin to skin”

“Alright” Blaine immediately relented –how could he deny Sam anything, especially when the only thing he was asking him was to let him hold him so sweetly?–, realizing with a soft sigh that his enormous love for the blond guy would sooner or later bring him trouble.

“We should get some sleep” Sam whispered before placing a tender kiss just behind Blaine’s ear and accommodating himself on the back of his neck in a intimately way. “It’s been a long day”

Blaine obeyed and closed his eyes, willing himself through deep breaths to relax in Sam’s arms, those arms that always had provided so much comfort and strength for him and that were now holding him so tenderly, their skins brushing at the slightest movement under their blanket. But he was not going to keep worrying about it that night, not when Ryder was gone, not when it could have been Sam, not when he could lose him any day. That night he had made love with Sam, he felt loved and cared for and he was being spooned by that excellent human being, and he was going to enjoy it. So he just nestled up more closely on Sam’s chest and waited until his rhythmic and slow breath vibrating through his back told him he was asleep to whisper _I love you, Sammy_ in the stillness of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, so it was Ryder indeed, I'm so sorry and sad :( But it had to happen sooner or later, we all knew that!
> 
> BTW, to those of you who usually review, could you let me know if we know each other from tumblr? I have the feeling some of you are tumblr mutuals with me and I can't remember because of the different names and I want to get it straight. Thank you!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about this absolutely-non-brilliant-chapter-at-all, but I needed a little something to honor Ryder (so his death wouldn't seem like it didn't make sense!) and I needed to end it where I did so the plot can go on from there. I might have gone a bit lazy or totally uninspired with this one, I don't know. I hope you don't get too bored or uninterested with it! I promise the next one will be better!

Blaine woke up with a slight sense of void, as if he was missing something. Of course it only took him a minute to understand it was the contact of Sam’s skin all along his body –and that had been so real just a few hours ago– what he was missing. And craving.

The horrible feeling of rejection from the day before quickly came back to him at the absence of Sam’s body next to him, only a million times worse because this time they had slept together, not just had a stupid drunken kiss. What did his disappearance mean, after what they had done the night before? That he regretted it? That he was ashamed of it? That he wanted to pretend it hadn’t happened? That he still thought it was the worst idea ever, even if he had been the one initiating it, and in a very sober state this time?

Blaine thought he was about to start crying when he noticed he was not cold at all, in spite of being stark naked under the blankets. Blankets. Plural. So yes, Sam had left, but he had thrown an extra blanket on him and safely tucked him in so he wouldn’t go cold –he knew how sensitive to the cold Blaine was, after all–. That had to mean something, right? He wouldn’t have stopped to take care of him if he hated him, would he? And the way he had held him through the night surely didn’t look like an act of disgust.

Willing his heart not to get his hopes up too soon, Blaine sat up on the bed, blushing even if he was alone at the fact that he was indeed naked and the implications that had. Ok, he was not a virgin, but he had never imagined something like that could happen with Sam. And in spite of how close and affectionate they had always been with each other, having sex was a totally different area, right? Even if that didn’t get them to take another step on their relationship, it had been meaningful and intimate and… awesome. Just thinking about it was sending all kinds of butterflies going crazy in his stomach, and he would have screamed and kicked his legs on the bed with excitement if he was not feeling so self-conscious already.

Before he got up he noticed a little piece of paper on the pillow, just where Sam’s head had been resting the night before, and Blaine’s heart started racing as he picked it up and started reading it.

_Gone running, couldn’t possibly stay in bed any longer. You were sleeping so peacefully for once that I didn’t have the heart to wake you. I’ll come get you later to help you downstairs._

Blaine smiled impossibly wide at that. So no, Sam hadn’t escaped. He had just felt restless in bed and hadn’t wanted to wake him up. But he had left a note so Blaine wouldn’t freak out about his absence if he woke up before Sam came back. Yeah, that surely wasn’t the way someone who was ashamed would act, that was for sure. He still didn’t know if it meant something else, but at least he was comforted that Sam didn’t hate him and that what had happened wasn’t going to come between them in an awkward way.

He must have slept longer than necessary, because when he made his way downstairs –as well as he could, as his leg was still giving him some trouble– he could see some of his friends loaded with provisions that they seemed to be getting inside from the bus for stocking. He had never asked, for obvious reasons, but it looked like they had been able to get quite a lot of things before tragedy stroke. Blaine felt like kicking his own shin at how guilty he felt he had only been worrying about his own matters with Sam when Ryder had just left them the night before. But the tense and sad atmosphere in the common room immediately connected him with reality.

“Don’t even dare to think about it” a voice behind him got his attention and, before he knew it, a hand on his shoulder was pushing him down on the nearest chair before he could even think to try and help them get everything inside. Blaine didn’t need to see him to know it was Sam, worrying about him, as usual. “And you should have waited for me to help you downstairs”

Blaine’s heart fluttered again at Sam’s affectionate squeeze before letting go of his shoulder to continue with his task. He knew it was not much to read into it –it was probably what he would have done any other day– but at least he was now positive Sam was not staying away from him, and he still cared enough to worry about his health. He was dying to talk to him, but he very well knew it was not the time nor the place to do it.

Some quiet sobbing immediately got his attention, and he was surprised at how he had missed Marley just sitting on the table in front of him. Although the state she was in didn’t surprise him at all, as he had expected for her to be one of the most affected with Ryder’s passing, he still felt a sting of pain in his heart at her obvious grief. And since the people closer to her where the other ones who would also be more upset, like Jake or Unique, he thought it would be nice of him to step in.

Without a second thought, Blaine left his chair and limped to sit next to the upset girl and embrace her before they even said a word. She had probably needed that, as she immediately rested her cheek on his shoulder as her sobs intensified.

“We’re going to be alright” Blaine promised with a whisper to her ear as her arms closed around his back in their much needed embrace.

“He’s gone, Blaine” she said, sounding as if she was having trouble believing it still, and Blaine just gulped his own tears –now was not the time to shed them– before answering.

“I know, sweetheart” he lovingly answered, holding her head to his shoulder in a comforting gesture. “And we’ll miss him like crazy. But we’re still here and we need to focus on that, ok?”

“Yes” she agreed as she broke the embrace and nodded, smiling shyly at Blaine as he moved to remove some of her tears with his own thumbs.

Sam saw them from a distance and his heart warmed and saddened at the same time at the image. He felt incredibly proud of his friend, always there for everyone, always making sure everyone was alright. But at the same time… when would he take care of his own sorrow? He, like everyone else, had also lost a friend last night. And he still hadn’t seen him cry.

Sam sighed as he watched Blaine also find a smile for Unique, who just had appeared into the common room. He looked beautiful in spite of all the sadness, didn’t he? Even if his smile was obviously missing his usual sparkle, it was still enough to shake Sam’s heart to the core. He really hoped his note had been enough to reassure Blaine that he hadn’t left the bed in a terrified or ashamed state that morning. In fact, and despite what had happened with Ryder, Sam had probably never woken up with such a sense of inner peace in his heart since everything started, just because of the warmth of Blaine’s skin against his and the reminder of his taste in his mouth. He had contemplated waking him up just to see those amazing eyes of him looking at him like they had done the night before, full of love and adoration and… lust. But he knew it was not that common for Blaine to be sleeping so peacefully, and he didn’t have the heart to wake him. So he had contented himself with placing a tender kiss on Blaine’s naked shoulder, as a reminder of how his lips had travelled all along his body just a few hours ago, and had carefully left the bed with the intention of having a run around the playground, hoping the physical exercise would help him put his thoughts and feelings in order. Although he had made sure to write the note and to safely tuck Blaine in with the blanket from the top bunk bed, tenderly ruffling the soft curls on his forehead, before leaving the cell.

As he heard Jake angrily kicking a box that had fallen in his way, Sam was brought back to reality: they had lost one of them, and there were people suffering deeply. Thanks to Blaine and his reassuring words –and everything that had come after that– he was feeling a bit better about it, but those who had been closer to Ryder were inconsolable, and he wished there was something he could do for them. But he didn’t have Blaine’s magical touch or his way with words, and he felt at a loss about what to do until Jake caught everyone’s attention.

“Shouldn’t we be training already?”

“You want to train today?” Unique asked him in disbelief.

“Of course. Any reason we shouldn’t?” Jake answered as cockily as he could muster.

“Yes. The fact we just lost Ryder is enough for you?” Kitty intervened, and even though she was not crying for the time being, her red eyes were perfect proof of how much she was also hurting.

“Life goes on, right?” Jake sarcastically answered. “That’s what all of them have been saying all night”

None of the older people, who had been the ones trying to console the younger ones with words and embraces practically all night, felt offended at the obvious reproach from the youngest Puckerman, as he had been a good friend of Ryder and they understood his attitude.

“Can we just leave it for tomorrow, Jake?” Marley pleaded from her chair, her heart breaking at her boyfriend’s obvious pain, even if he was trying to conceal it.

“No, we can’t” he immediately answered in an angry tone. “Isn’t it obvious we need training? Lots of training, if you ask me. So no one else thinks they’re qualified to fight for their lives because they were given a couple of stupid advices and were encouraged to go out there before they were ready”

“Jake, that’s not fair” Sam immediately jumped on Blaine’s defense –because even if Jake hadn’t said any names, it was Blaine who had suggested for them to train the day before, so he was obviously referring to him the most.

“We’re all upset and angry” Puck intervened, trying to stop his brother from getting into a fight as everybody was nervous and upset. “Maybe we should just… take some time off to come to terms with everything”

“Time is not going to make any difference” Jake continued, looking defiantly at Sam. “Unless we can turn back in time and not push Ryder to do something he wasn’t ready for”

“No one encouraged Ryder to go, he made that decision himself” Sam corrected him before he could stop himself. He knew Jake was upset, and he should be more patient with him, but he couldn’t let himself accuse Blaine like that and make everything his fault. Knowing Blaine, he probably was already feeling guilty, the last thing he needed was for someone to tell him he had a reason to. “And if I remember correctly, none of us tried to dissuade him from it. No one. If it’s anybody’s fault, then it’s absolutely everyone’s”

“If you act as a leader, people will listen to you and trust your decisions” Jake went on, not backing down for a second as he even turned to look at Blaine to make sure he knew he was talking about him. “You can’t give orders and give the impression you have it all under control and then avoid to take responsibilities when your plans backfire”

Sam could perfectly see Blaine’s heart breaking at Jake’s words through his eyes, knowing they had hit too close to home, and it was everything he could do not to jump at Jake’s throat.

“Blaine was only trying to help, you know?” Sam said in a threatening tone that immediately made Blaine jump from his chair and hurry to his friend as much as his injured leg would let him.

“Sam…” he said as he grabbed Sam’s arm in case he needed to stop him.

“No, let me” Sam begged, looking intently at Blaine for a second before turning to Jake again, though he didn’t try to disentangle his arm from Blaine’s grip. “He has much more experience in this than any of you have because he had to learn what to do to survive, unlike you. And now you accuse him because he is trying to make fighters of all of you so you can survive too? He never asked to be your leader, you selfish moron, but I didn’t see you complain about his ideas when he was saving all our lives at McKinley”

Silence fell amongst the group for a second as they waited for Jake to react, though he didn’t. He seemed to be thinking about Sam’s words, probably realizing he was right if the expression on his face was any indicator of the turmoil of emotions inside of him.

“Let’s not jump on everyone else’s throat” Puck said in a pacifying tone, knowing Sam was right but also understanding his brother’s attitude. “We’re all very affected by Ryder’s loss, but fighting between us won’t help us any”

“And Ryder wouldn’t have wanted that” Marley intervened, her voice shaking as she looked at her boyfriend, begging him to stop.

“You’re right” Jake finally admitted, his eyes glassy with tears as a palpable sadness replaced his previous fury as he turned the one he had thrown all his anger at. “Blaine, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it, I’m just… angry, I guess”

“It’s okay” Blaine immediately forgave him, understanding very well where Jake’s attitude came from, even if his words had really stung.

“Just measure your words next time you’re voicing an opinion” Sam added, trying to sound less harsh than before as he threw a protective arm around Blaine’s shoulders, still feeling the need to defend him even if Jake had already apologized.

Jake nodded, looking a bit ashamed, and Blaine was quick to offer his hand for him to shake as a peace offer, wanting to show the younger boy everything was alright.

“Jake is right, we need more training” Blaine said once Jake let go of his hand, unconsciously nestling to Sam’s side under his protective arm as if he was trying to gather some strength from him while talking to everyone. “Lots of it. But… maybe we could leave it for tomorrow. Maybe we should do something else today”

“Like what?” Tina asked, looking curiously at her friend, knowing Blaine always had the best ideas and trusting him to make everything better for everyone, as he always did.

“We are all very upset, maybe we need to do something for Ryder before we can get over his loss” Blaine cryptically suggested.

“Like what?” Marley asked, her hopes up.

“I know we can’t do a proper burial and everything, but we can organize a funeral” Blaine suggested, hoping the others wouldn’t think it was a stupid idea. “Kind of. Something to say goodbye”

“We could say some words for him” Unique suggested.

“Maybe… we could all write some message for him and bury them all together” Marley added, looking around her to see if anybody else was up for it.

“That seems like a nice idea” Blaine said with a sweet smile for the two girls, glad they were on board. If there was a way to make everyone feel a bit better, he was happy to contribute to it.

**********

They chose a corner of the playground where some beautiful bushes grew as Ryder’s metaphoric rest place. Jake had carved his name in a little wood plank he had torn off from a bunk bed nobody was using and they left it to rest on the floor, where Kitty had dug a small hole where they would bury the box with all their written messages.

Someone suggested they should read the messages out loud, but in the end they decided they were probably too intimate, so they just put them on the box and decided to say some words instead. Only when the time for talking came, nobody seemed to find the words to honor their friend as he deserved: the ones who had known him were too upset and the older ones hadn’t known him enough for it to be meaningful enough. So in the end it was Blaine, as usual, who took charge of the situation, as he and Ryder had been good friends and he seemed to be dealing with his loss a bit better than most.

“Ryder was one of those people you instantly get to like” he started with a nostalgic and sad smile, which was immediately reciprocated with smiles and nods amongst the group. “He looked shy and insecure at first, but once you got to know him… he was so funny and enthusiastic and charming!”

Blaine took a second to breathe deeply before the others could notice how close he was to tears or the shaking of his voice. Most of them were in tears by then, and he willed himself to remain strong for them. And for Ryder.

“He had one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever seen. He couldn’t possibly see someone having a bad time and now rush to help them in any way he could. He was kind like that. He was warm, intelligent, kindhearted and talented. But above all, he was a friend. Someone who lived his life to the fullest and who, if he was here, he would tell us to suck it up and stop crying over him, that he wasn’t worth that much. But he was. You’re going to be so missed, my friend” Blaine finished, raising his gaze to the sky as his voice broke, even if only Sam noticed the big effort he was making not to cry, so he placed a light hand between his shoulder blades for comfort.

Everybody fell into silence as one by one they threw a handful of dirt over the box, openly crying and saying their own silent prayers and wishes for him. And when everybody had made peace with it, they spontaneously fell into a group hug that, even if it elicited even more tears, it helped them deal with their pain and understand they were not alone in their grief.

**********

After the funeral they all decided to spend the rest of the day together in the dining room, taking comfort in each other’s presence. They even prepared a kind of special meal in Ryder’s honor and everybody seemed to be slightly comforted by it.

Except for Blaine, Sam noticed. He had been making sure everybody was alright all the time, offering food, embraces and kind words to whoever would need them, until he disappeared. Sam wondered how long he had been gone, and how he had not noticed before. Suddenly very worried about his friend, he excused himself and went in search of him, hoping he was in their shared cell and not in the cold outside.

Now that he thought about it, Sam was not that surprised about Blaine’s disappearance as he went up the stairs. After all, hiding was something Blaine usually did when he was trying to deal with something. It was not easy to get him to open up, and Sam had had to learn how to approach him in those situations with time, instead of leaving him alone as he usually claimed he wanted –though fortunately Sam knew better, and he knew that being alone was the last thing Blaine needed–. And considering he had been neglecting his own pain all day long for everybody’s sake… It was easy to guess he probably just had needed some space for himself. And thankfully he had found him in their room, lying on his bed, Sam noticed with a relieved sigh.

“Hey” Sam softly said as he leant against the wall, offering a smile to his friend.

“Hey” Blaine answered, equally soft as he turned his face towards the beloved voice.

“I didn’t know where you were” Sam explained, as if he was trying to justify his presence in the room they shared. “I was bit worried”

“I’m sorry, I just… needed to be alone for a while” Blaine immediately apologized, and the shaking of his voice immediately alerted Sam something was indeed wrong with him.

“Mind for some company, though?” Sam asked, although he started walking towards him before waiting for an answer, stopping right at his side.

“Sure” Blaine answered as he shifted on the bed to leave some room for Sam.

It felt a little awkward to just lie there so innocently, facing each other exactly as they had done the night they arrived to the prison, after what had happened in that same bed less than twenty-four hours ago. Blaine hated himself for being such a coward and not having the guts to ask Sam what he felt, like Sebastian had suggested the day before, but the fear of rejection was too big. It had hurt enough when Sam had discovered about his crush on him and he said nothing was going to change; now that Blaine was in head over heels in love with him, he didn’t know if he could survive if Sam told him again it was a mistake.

Besides it felt so selfish and banal just thinking about that when they had just lost a dear friend like that… Just remembering about Ryder reminded Blaine why he had needed to hide from anyone for a while, and a tear rolled unannounced down his cheek without even him noticing.

“You alright?” Sam asked, capturing the tear with his thumb, almost as if it was offended by its mere presence in Blaine’s cheek.

“Yeah” Blaine answered, not too convincingly.

“I’m here for you too, you know” Sam said, his voice filled with honesty and tenderness, as he put his arms around Blaine’s smaller frame and brought him closer to his chest for a warm and comforting embrace, even if they were lying down. “You’ve been holding it up all day, haven’t you? Taking care of everyone, as you always do”

“I guess” Blaine admitted, his voice muffled with the sweater covering Sam’s chest, although he buried his face even deeper in there, trying to hide from the world in the only place that offered some kind of comfort anymore.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed. But you need to cry too” Sam reminded him as he kissed the top of Blaine’s head in the most tender of ways.

“That’s what I was trying to do before you interrupted me” Blaine joked with a sad smile, raising his face from Sam’s chest to look at him.

“Then I’ll guess you’ll just have to cry with me” Sam answered, gently brushing his knuckles along Blaine’s cheek until he broke his resistance and the first tears appeared in his golden eyes.

“It’s so unfair” Blaine lamented, shaking his head as if he still couldn’t believe it, letting the tears fall even if he didn’t let himself break down into sobs.

“I know” Sam answered as he turned on his back and brought Blaine to lie on his chest, hoping to get him more comfortable and relaxed to help him open his heart to him, cuddling together as they had done so many times during the last few days.

“Why Ryder?” Blaine finally made the question that had been in everyone’s head all day. “He was such a nice dude, he… would never kill a fly and he was always so good with everyone”

“Yeah, he was” Sam admitted, carding his fingers through the softness of Blaine’s curls, marveled at how ridiculously intimate it felt, especially after everything they had shared the night before.

“He didn’t deserve to die like that” Blaine whispered, as if his voice was losing its strength with each word.

“No, he didn’t”

“And I feel like such a bad person” Blaine confessed as a sob finally broke on his throat, and he hid his face on the crook of Sam’s neck, trying to stop the upcoming sobs.

“What?” Sam asked in astonishment, trying to lift Blaine’s head from his neck so he could look at Blaine’s eyes, but the latter refused and stubbornly remained in his hiding place as his whole body shook with sobs he couldn’t control anymore. “Why do you say that?”

“Because as much as I’m sorry that Ryder is gone… I can’t help but being grateful it wasn’t you” Blaine confessed, his voice full of shame and sorrow, and Sam’s heart broke at the suffering of his friend, who had given everything he had to everyone and still was able to find reasons to feel guilty and to convince himself it wasn’t enough.

“Gosh, Blaine… You’re so not a bad person…” Sam tried to make him see, his fingers massaging his scalp lovingly as his own eyes filled with bitter tears at Blaine’s devastated sobs. “You’re one of the good guys, remember?”

Sam hoped for some reaction at those words that had helped Blaine once, but his guilt was even bigger this time and he didn’t give any sign of believing them.

“You know what I was thinking the whole way back here after Ryder died?” Sam tried again, hoping that seeing he was not the only to have selfish thoughts like those would make a difference for the suffering boy –after all, what he was going to say was completely true–. “How grateful I was that you hadn’t come with us so I knew you were safe and sound here, waiting for me”

Blaine lifted his head from his hiding place this time and looked intently at the other boy, trying to asset if he was saying the truth or he was just trying to make him feel better.

“Really?” he asked, and only the little smile that broke on Sam’s lips let him hope that he was being honest.

“Of course, B” Sam admitted, with no hint of embarrassment, as he cupped the back of Blaine’s head to reinforce his words. “I told you yesterday, you’re the only one I could never bear to lose”

Only when he could see Blaine was starting to believe him, Sam brought the latter’s face down through the hand that was holding his neck and captured his lips slowly. He noticed some hesitation on Blaine at first, as if he wanted to ask something else, but in the end he let go of himself and deepened the kiss as he let Sam reverse their positions and climb on top of him, welcoming the weight that was so deliciously pinning him to the bed and making him forget about anything that wasn’t the contact of their aligned bodies.

There was no trace of the urge and the desperation of the day before. This time Sam only wanted to comfort the other boy, to make him feel better, to get him to believe how important he was to him. He kissed him slowly, lovingly, as his hand tenderly cupped his face as if he was going to break, savoring his taste as if the passion from the night before hadn’t given him the chance to do that.

When he broke the kiss, Sam’s lips move to kiss away the remains of tears on Blaine’s cheeks, in a gesture so tender that it almost make Blaine break into tears again. And when Sam buried his face in the crook of Blaine’s neck and gently kissed every inch of his skin there, while his hand found its way under the hem of his sweater and started wandering around his chest, Blaine forgot about everything he wanted to ask about what they were doing and where that was leading them and closed his eyes in surrender to let Sam take care of him as he was silently promising him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it. As I said, it will get better, sorry.
> 
> I've got kind of bad news: I'm going to take a little hiatus from this story (hopefully very little), I still don't know if now or after the next chapter. But it's going to be Blam's week on tumblr very soon and I need to write something for that. I hope it doesn't get me too long, but knowing me once I start I never seem to stop! I'll try to be quick!
> 
> And I'm going to start working again in a week anyway, so the updates are probably going to be slower from now on... Sorry again! I only seem to give you shit today! :(


	14. Chapter 14

Blaine smiled before even opening his eyes, as he realized it was Sam’s lips on his skin what had woken him up. He was lying on his stomach, his face pillowed in his bended arms, and apparently Sam had uncovered the upper part of his body just to deliver butterfly kisses all along the area, tickling his skin and warming his heart in equal parts.

“Don’t pretend to be asleep so I continue with this, I saw you smile” Sam whispered against his skin in a joking tone, even though he didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping his ministrations.

“I’m smiling in my dreams” Blaine jokingly lied, eliciting a chuckle from the other boy while he reached the sensitive skin on the back of his neck.

“Oh really? And what are you dreaming about?” Sam asked, teasingly breathing on Blaine’s neck until he was proud to give him goosebumps.

“Your lips on my skin” Blaine answered, and his request was granted as Sam’s lips resumed their kissing task on the side of his inviting neck.

“Looks like a really realistic dream” Sam joked as he placed a final kiss on Blaine’s cheek and lay down next to him, on his side, looking at him with an almost invisible smile on his face.

“Yet you woke me up and ruined it” Blaine protested, mockingly pouting at him at the loss.

“Good morning, by the way” Sam said, stretching his neck so he could kiss Blaine’s lips and make himself forgiven.

“Good morning” Blaine relented, giving Sam one of those smiles of his that never failed to warm his heart.

Blaine lazily stretched out his limps, trying to get rid of the remains of sleep in his body, as he looked tenderly at his lover, who always seemed to be at his most handsome when he had just woken up and his eyes were still puffy with sleep and his long hair was all rumbled so adoringly. Blaine was grateful for the extra space their recent idea provided: after the first three nights falling asleep in each other’s arms on Blaine’s narrow bunk bed after having sex –or making love, as Blaine liked to call it in his mind–, they stopped pretending it was something that just had happened and, even if they didn’t really talk about it, they assumed it was something that was going to happen again. So Sam suggested they should put both mattresses together on the floor –the bed bases were ridiculously pathetic anyway– and be more comfortable at nights. To sleep and… to whatever they did. Which they did. Often.

And that’s the arrangement still working for them almost two weeks later. And since both of them seemed to be quite happy with it, that’s how they woke up every morning, more content and more in sync than ever, especially considering their actual shitty situation.

“Did you sleep well?” Sam tenderly asked as his hand replaced his lips on Blaine’s skin and he started brushing the tip of his fingers up and down his naked spine, making the latter sigh in contentment.

“Uh-huh” Blaine murmured, Sam’s caresses making him go sleepy again.

“I was no kidding, you really smile when you sleep sometimes” Sam said as he shifted closer to the other boy and placed a kiss on his shoulder.

“Do you watch me when I sleep?” Blaine asked with an amused smile on his face.

“Sometimes” Sam answered with a shrug of shoulders, slightly blushing as if he had been caught red-handed.

“Aren’t you sweet?” Blaine whispered as this time it was him who finally moved, if only to capture Sam’s tempting lips in a long kiss. “Well, ready for a new day?”

“Not really” Sam complained, and when he noticed Blaine was starting to move he hurried to put his arms and legs around him to keep him in place. “No, don’t go yet, it’s so cold and you’re so warm…”

“Do we need to have the same conversation every day?” Blaine chuckled as he extricated from Sam’s octopus embrace and stood up, hurrying up to throw some clothes on him as it was indeed pretty cold out of bed –and Sam’s arms.

“Do you have to leave me cold and lonely every day?” Sam asked from his place in the bed, not even trying to feign he wasn’t looking at Blaine’s body as the latter got dressed.

“What a whiner you are…” Blaine joked, turning around so Sam wouldn’t see he was blushing from the shameless checkout he knew he was receiving from him.

“Then don’t leave me” Sam answered with a pout that only made Blaine fall for him even more deeply.

“Well, you shouldn’t wake me up if you didn’t want me to leave!” Blaine answered with a laugh as he looked tenderly at him.

“Good point” Sam admitted as he started getting up himself, not minding at all about being stark naked as he crossed the room to get to his clothes, which had been scattered all around the place in a fit of passion the night before. And if Blaine wanted to look… well, he was more than welcome to do it, Sam thought with a smirk.

“Oh my God, look at that!” Blaine exclaimed as he looked at his reflection on the little mirror hanging from the wall as he tried to tame his wild curls.

“What?” Sam asked, slightly worried that something was wrong with the other boy, as he turned around and looked at the area on Blaine’s neck that he was pointing. “Hey, nice hickey. Wonder who gave it to you?” he joked after closer inspection, relieved that everything was fine, as he moved to kiss the bruise before Blaine got away from his reach.

“By the size of it, I don’t think it leaves much room for a lot of options” Blaine answered as he playfully pushed Sam away from him, making the other laugh. “Will you stop giving me marks every day?”

“I’m sorry!” Sam faked apologized as he continued dressing. “You’re just too delicious”

“And you’re a vampire” Blaine answered, willing himself not to blush at Sam’s appreciating words. “One inch higher and I wouldn’t even be able to hide it with my sweater” he added as he turned to his bed for something to cover his upper body, which thanks to Sam’s curious mouth would have to be his turtleneck sweater –again.

“Oh, I made sure of that, don’t worry” Sam answered while buttoning his undershirt, oblivious to the surprised gaze Blaine was sending his way.

“You were thinking about that when you were sucking on my neck like an animal?” Blaine asked, a little more seriously than just a moment ago.

“Well, I can be animalistic and careful at the same time, you know” Sam answered with a smirk, even if he was starting to notice the change in the atmosphere.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you feel such a need to be careful?” Blaine asked, the smile completely gone from his face by then.

“Because otherwise the others would see it, as you said” Sam answered, as if it was obvious, as he continued moving around the room to grab things, as if he was trying to avoid Blaine’s eyes.

“And what if they did?” Blaine insisted, not willing to back down for once. Sam had been avoiding that conversation for some days now, and Blaine was starting to get really frustrated about it.

“Did what?”

“Find out about us”

“I don’t see how this could be anybody’s business but ours” Sam said with a shrug of his shoulders, and Blaine pretended not to notice how Sam said _this_ instead of _us_ , because that would probably hurt too much.

“I’m not saying we have to give a press conference to inform them, but would it be so terrible if they knew?” Blaine insisted again, and he was starting to sound so defeated that Sam felt forced to stop and give him his whole attention.

“Why are you asking me this?” Sam asked as he stopped in front of him, looking at him intently.

“I don’t know, all of a sudden you sounded as if you were ashamed of _this_ or something” Blaine answered, trying not to sound as sarcastic or reproachful as he was feeling.

“Don’t be ridiculous, why would I be ashamed?” Sam asked with a reassuring smile as he lowered his face to capture Blaine’s lips in a quick kiss, his hands finding their way onto Blaine’s hips. “It’s just… this only concerns you and me, and nobody has a say in it”

“Alright” Blaine relented with a sigh, although by the expression on his face Sam could see he was not really convinced.

“Come on, don’t give me that” Sam begged him in a playful tone, trying to erase the frown on Blaine’s brow with a longer kiss this time. “I’ll race you downstairs!” he said as he slapped Blaine’s rear and started running towards the stairs.

Blaine sighed again as he followed his friend more slowly. This was not going as he would have liked, at all. Sure, in the security of their room every night they acted like a couple, they had sex practically every night and Sam would be the sweetest thing ever, taking care of him and making him feel loved and cared for. They had a very real connection and intimacy under the blankets, and even when they were not having sexual intercourses, they were always entwining their fingers, exchanging long and lazy kisses, cuddling impossibly close, opening their hearts to each other until the late hours, telling each other their most inner secrets while talking in whispers so as not to disturb the romantic atmosphere they had created… It was so perfect it didn’t even feel real…

And then morning came and it didn’t feel real either. They would flirt and kiss and joke while they got dressed, but as soon as they left the room they were back to being friends. The best of friends, but that was it. They hadn’t even discussed it, but apparently some time it had been decided nobody was to know about what was going on between them. Heck, even he didn’t know what was happening between them, as every time he tried talking to Sam about it, the latter would avoid him, or start joking or pretending he was falling asleep. And it hurt so much that Blaine had stopped trying. He was starting to wish he was strong enough to put an end to whatever their relationship was. But he wasn’t. The moments he got to spend with Sam like that, when both of them let themselves be vulnerable and authentic for each other, made him so happy and made him feel so alive he couldn’t possibly say no to them. Even if every morning they killed him all over again.

“I won!” Sam joked with a wide smile as he arrived to the common room, and even in his troubled state of mind, Blaine couldn’t help but reciprocate, because damned Sam and his incredible smile had that effect on him.

“Well, congrats, you’re the best” he joked before sending a smile to everyone else in the common room as a greeting.

“Had a good sleep?” Sebastian asked Blaine with a wide smile as the latter sat next to him. During the last few days, his friendship with Sebastian had been going stronger and Blaine was glad because of the respite it provided him from his other complicated relationships. At least with Sebastian he didn’t need to pretend, and everything was easy.

“Yeah, I guess” Blaine answered with a matching smile as he started having breakfast, not wanting to look at Sam in fear of blushing at the reminder of everything that had been going in their room apart from sleep just a few hours ago.

Of course the fact he wasn’t looking at Sam prevented him from noticing the dark glance the blond was sending his way. Or more accurately, at Sebastian. As Blaine’s friendship with Sebastian grew, an upsetting feeling of something very similar to jealousy had been growing on Sam’s stomach simultaneously. Which was kind of stupid, he knew, because he was very aware it was him Blaine had feelings for –if what they did every night was any prove of that– and not for Sebastian. But even if he didn’t want to admit it to himself, he also suspected Blaine was not entirely happy with their current situation. Sam thought –knew– that maybe Blaine wanted something more, wanted to put a label on whatever was going on between them, wanted for them to stop pretending nothing had changed between them to the eyes of the others. Sometimes, as they lay spent and sated on each other’s arms, Sam could feel a sadness emanating from the smaller boy that immediately made him feel guilty for being too much of a coward to give Blaine what he needed.

But what if Sebastian would give him that? He didn’t know if the tall boy was interested in Blaine in that way, but his constant flirting and the way he was always all over him made Sam worry more than he dared to admit. He knew Sebastian was just like that, and his friendship with Blaine had always been based on constant flirtatious remarks and flattering that usually didn’t mean anything. But they seemed to be getting closer, more than ever, and Sam was afraid that closeness would develop into something else. Because yes, Blaine could have a crush on him alright, but maybe if Sebastian tried long enough… And he didn’t seem to be a coward like he was, Sam had to give him that.

“Sam, either you sit down or you get out of the way, but you need to let me through” Artie complained good-naturedly as he waited for Sam to come out of his reverie so he could get his chair between the two tables and have some breakfast too.

“Sorry, Artie” Sam apologized as he complied and sat down, noticing he had been left further away from Blaine than he would have liked, as he couldn’t even hear what he and Sebastian were talking about.

“You okay, Sam?” Artie asked, looking more intently at the other boy, apparently noticing some of the turmoil inside of him.

“Yeah, yeah” Sam rushed to answer, even offering a small and grateful smile. “I just didn’t get that much sleep, that’s all”

“Oh, and why would that be, may I ask?” Puck answered in his usual mocking tone, appearing at their side in just the right moment.

“These things happen, you know” Sam answered in an unperturbed tone, because he was very aware of what Puck was implying and he was not going to give him the satisfaction on corroborating it with his attitude. He knew Puck was not even serious about them, but he liked to joke about how they looked like a couple. He had done that even before anything had happened between them anyway, so Sam knew he didn’t seriously think there was something going on.

“Blaine, wearing the turtleneck again?” Puck said, raising his tone so it would reach the shorter boy at the other end of the table. “Could maybe be a reason for that?”

“Yeah, the fact that it’s cold” Sam answered for him, knowing Blaine was the worst of liars and fearing he would just end up giving himself away without even meaning to.

“Hey, last time I checked Blaine was able to speak for himself” Puck answered, and his voice didn’t sound as merry as a second before because he seemed to be feeling some of the tension going on in the place.

“There is nothing more to say, Puck, as Sam said it’s cold and I’m very sensible to it, so…” Blaine explained, more seriously than expected, and Sam pretended not to notice the hurt and the reproach in his eyes as he looked at him.

“I could lend you one of my jackets, Killer” Sebastian immediately offered, gently resting his hand on the back of Blaine’s neck. “I know you don’t have a lot of clothes with you, and I’ve got a whole suitcase of them. After all, we don’t want you to get sick, do we?”

“There will be no need for that, he knows he can use any of my clothes whenever he needs to” Sam intervened before he was able to stop himself. But come on, could Sebastian stop acting as if he was the person closer to Blaine at that table, when he was clearly not?

“You have as many clothes as he does” Sebastian answered with a chuckle, and even if Sam could see he was not trying to provoke him or anything, he couldn’t help but get more and more annoyed at the other boy by the second.

“Even then, we will share what we have, like we always do” Sam answered, looking knowingly at Blaine, as if trying to send him a silent message to remind him that, in spite of any complications between them, he was still his person and he still cared about him above everything else.

“Samuel, I never thought you to be the jealous kind” Sebastian joked, making everyone around them laugh –except for Blaine, whose efforts to smile ended more on a grimace–, but Sam felt as if Sebastian knew more than he was letting on and was throwing some kind of hint. That or… was that his way of fighting for Blaine?

He realized he was taking too long to answer, and everybody was looking at him as if expecting him to send a funny retort at Sebastian, but gosh, he felt completely incapable of joking that morning.

“Why would I be jealous?” he finally asked, trying to sound casual, but the look Sebastian gave him made it clear he was not fooling him.

“Oh, no reason” Sebastian nonchalantly replied as he stood, having just finished his breakfast. “I think I’m taking a walk outside. Anyone wants to join me?”

“I will” Much to Sam’s dismay, Blaine immediately jumped from his chair, probably too anxious to keep still, especially now that the wound on his leg was only a scar and there were so many things going on in his head.

Sam thought about forgetting about breakfast and going with them too, but he had to refrain himself from doing it for two reasons: one, because after the conversation they had just had, it would look too suspicious for him to want to accompany the other two before even before finishing his breakfast, as if he didn’t want them alone. And two… well, he had no right. If he didn’t have the guts to claim Blaine as something more than his friend, he didn’t have any right to stop him from enjoying his friendship with Sebastian, whether or not Sebastian was looking for something more –which he frankly didn’t know.

“Me too” Tina decided to join them in the last second, and Sam tried to hold his triumphal smile at the annoyance so evident in Sebastian’s eyes.

“Great, Tey Tey, let’s get going” Blaine kindly encouraged his dear friend, and Sam was a bit reassured by the fact that Blaine didn’t mind about Tina interrupting his alone time with Sebastian –after all, Sam knew how much Blaine loved the girl, and he had to admit that, all in all, he had been monopolizing Blaine quite much since the whole apocalypse started, so maybe the smaller guy was just trying to reconnect with his old friends as he gave Sam the space he seemed to need, even if he hadn’t told him that. But Blaine was great like that, wasn’t he? Even if he didn’t understand or like the situation, he still tried to give Sam everything he needed.

He was taken out of his reverie by the angry shriek and a stream of swearwords coming from Tina’s mouth when Sebastian accidentally hit the coffee Tina had in front of her and it fell all over her clothes.

“I’m so sorry, Tina” Sebastian apologized as he offered some napkins to the girl, but by the expression on his face Sam would have sworn he had done it on purpose.

“It’s okay, I’m sorry for my words” she said once the initial shock passed. “Get going, guys, I’ll go get changed and catch you in a second”

“Ok” Sebastian immediately agreed, confirming Sam’s suspicions that way. “Here, Killer, take my jacket, it’s pretty cold outside today and I’m wearing a lot of layers anyway” Sebastian offered to his shorter friend, grabbing the thick jacket he had been keeping on the backrest of his chair.

“But Seb…” Blaine tried to protest, but of course Sebastian was having none of that.

“Don’t worry, I never get cold anyway” he immediately dismissed him, forcing the jacket on Blaine before the latter could protest, until the only thing left for Blaine to do was to smile in gratitude.

Sam sighed deeply as he watched them go, the fear gripping his heart that he could end up losing Blaine if he didn’t get his shit together very real and intense. Almost as much as the guilt he felt every time he looked into Blaine’s eyes and saw the pain he knew he was causing. But he couldn’t bring himself to take another step and give his heart to him completely, as Blaine wanted. Not when he knew he could lose Blaine any day in the world they lived now. Because he could never survive that.

**********

Sebastian and Blaine walked slowly around the cell block, calm and comfortable in the safety the strong fence gave them. It was pretty cold indeed, as Sebastian had said, but he didn’t seem to be cold so Blaine relaxed in his jacket, grateful of breathing some fresh air that maybe would help him forget about everything even if just for a few minutes.

“You ok?” Sebastian asked after a couple minutes of silence. Of course Blaine wasn’t going to be so lucky.

“Of course” Blaine answered with a shrug of his shoulders, pretending to be surprised at the question.

“You seem a little… I don’t know, out”

“No, I’m alright”

“I feel like we haven’t talked in weeks!” Sebastian exclaimed with a chuckle, that Blaine reciprocated in the form of a smile.

“Haven’t we?”

“Well, it’s not that easy to catch you without Sam tagging along, you know?”

“You think?” Blaine asked in surprise, amazed that in spite of everything happening between them, the others still saw them as always –they were really good at pretending, weren’t they?

“Are you going to answer me with questions all the time?” Sebastian asked with a sarcastic tone that immediately made Blaine laugh in spite of himself. “Because that could elicit a very difficult conversation”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was doing it” Blaine apologized, comfortable leaning against Sebastian as the latter put his arm around him.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you for days: so… did you talk to him?” Sebastian asked, sounding more directly than he had intended.

“Yeah, kinda” Blaine answered, lowering his gaze so Sebastian wouldn’t see he was lying.

“And…?” Sebastian tried to encourage him to talk, but Blaine was very difficult and stubborn when he wanted to be.

“And nothing, everything is just the same” Blaine answered, his heart breaking at the huge lie he was telling his friend, but he knew Sam didn’t want anyone to know and Blaine couldn’t just betray him like that, in spite of how much he needed to share his worries with someone.

“But that kiss you told me about…” Sebastian insisted, feeling there was more to it than what Blaine was saying.

“It was a drunken mistake, that’s all” Blaine replied, only half lying this time because two weeks later he still wondered if he should have put an end to everything that had come after that when he was still able to do it. Maybe it had really been a mistake, after all.

“It wasn’t for you” Sebastian seriously contradicted him, stopping their walk so he could put himself in front of his friend and force him to look at him in the eye.

“Of course it was” Blaine answered, not sounding convincing even to himself.

“But Blaine, you said…”

“I was confused, it had just happened when I told you about it and I… I guess I read too much into it”

“Are you being honest with me or you don’t want to talk to me about it?” Sebastian asked, once again being more direct than what Blaine was able to deal with in the moment.

Fortunately, he was saved by the bell when Tina came running to them, after having changed her clothes.

“Guys, I’m here!” she said, happily hooking her arm with Blaine’s. “So what were you guys talking about?”

“Oh, nothing really” Sebastian was quick to answer for Blaine, being as attentive as he had been all those days before and wanting to spare him from the need to lie.

And of course Blaine was grateful for that: he knew Sebastian only worried about him and wanted to see him happy, but constantly wanting him to talk was not helping.

“I was going to tell Sebastian how I am a bit worried about the hole we made in the exterior fence when we arrived” Blaine lied, although the fact that he had been thinking about it was true.

“Really? Why?” Tina asked as she let herself be pushed towards the area.

Sebastian and Tina were surprised when Blaine took a set of keys from his pocket and opened the door of the interior fence so they could go and watch the other one from more closely. After all, none of them ever went beyond the first fence, as they had everything they need there and didn’t feel the need to explore any further. But they knew they were still safe, and if Blaine was guiding them there they knew they were not taking any risks. After all, Blaine was the most cautious and prudent of them all, he wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks, especially if there were other people with him.

“It just remains closed because we tied it with that cable” Blaine explained, checking with his hands the strength on the knot they had made.

“Yes, but it is still holding on, right?” Sebastian said. “I mean, if those walkers were able to open it, they would have already done it, don’t you think?”

“Maybe they haven’t tried hard enough” Blaine explained, all the sadness and turmoil in his eyes from a moment before gone as his brain worked as the survivor he was, planning on how to make their lives even safer. “I think we should find a way to cover the hole more permanently. Maybe if we…”

“Excuse me, younguns” an unknown voice coming from the other side of the fence caught their attention and made them jump out of their skins with the unexpectedness of it.

“Hey” Blaine answered, not really knowing what to say, as it was the first person aside from his friends he had seen after leaving the hospital and he was totally dumbfounded.

“You live here?” the man, who seemed to be in his forties, asked.

“Yes” Blaine answered as he started moving closer to the man and making gestures for the others to follow, though what he really wanted was to move away from the hole in the fence, wishing the man hadn’t realized about it.

“Maybe you could let me in… before any of those lurkers appear” the man kindly asked.

Blaine immediately brought his hand to his pocket, in search of the set of keys with the intention of opening the gate for him and letting him in. After all, he was in danger, and if there was any way to help him… But before he could take the hand out of his pocket again, he felt Sebastian’s fingers curling around his wrist, and the look he sent him, silently asking him to wait, made Blaine stop. Was he being too trusting? Maybe Sebastian only wanted to check that man was as inoffensive as he looked before letting him in. And yes, it seemed reasonable to do that, so Blaine quietly obeyed and made no further attempts at grabbing the keys.

“This looks like a nice place to live, given the circumstances” the man commented, trying to look nice so as to convince them to let him in.

“It is” Tina answered, still very confused about the man’s sudden apparition.

“You are so lucky to have found something like that” the man continued. “It keeps you safe, right?”

“Yes, we are safe here, we just need to go out every now and then to get supplies, but apart from that we have everything we need” Tina answered too naively.

“Tina…” Blaine warned her with a whisper to her ear to stop talking until they were sure about the man’s intentions, and the girl blushed and immediately shut up when he understood Blaine’s requests.

“What are you doing here?” Sebastian asked, trying not to sound too harsh even if Blaine could feel he was already in the defensive –just in case. “Are you alone?”

“Yes, I lost my family to those monsters only a couple of days ago as we tried to escape” the man explained, his voice shaking with anguish. “Come on, guys, I just need a place to rest for a while, I’m exhausted. And I’m unarmed”

The three youngsters hesitated, not knowing what to do. The man seemed honest, and if what he said was true… then the poor man deserved some sympathy. But what if they were letting their hearts guide them? What if they were putting everyone in danger just because they had been unable to read into that man’s lies?

“Please, guys, I’m begging you” the man continued as he opened his jacket and took a couple of apples and a clasp knife of it. “Look, this is everything I have, it’s yours, but please, you need to help me”

Blaine stood rooted to the floor, trying not to show in his face the discovery he had just made, but only one look at Sebastian’s gaze told him the other boy had seen the same: even if that man had told them he was unarmed, the movement of his jacket had let them see the handle of the gun he was hiding on the back of his waistband. But they needed to be careful, Blaine realized: in the security of their “home” no one had thought to take any of their guns with them, and their knives would be of no use in front of a man with a gun.

“Tina, why don’t you go get the keys?” Blaine suddenly said, just before turning to the girl to whisper in her ear without being noticed. “Get everyone out here”

“What?” she asked in confusion. How could she bring the keys if he had them in his pocket? And why did he need the others? She was about to ask when he noticed the pointed look he was giving her, and she understood that something was happening, and Blaine was asking for her help. “Oh, okay”

“Thank you, boys” the man continued with his farce as he saw the girl obeying her friend and going inside to get the keys to open the door for him. “You are saving my life”

“How have you managed to survive all the way here with just a pocket knife?” Sebastian asked, not being able to stop himself.

“I had a gun, but after I used all the ammunition I had, there was no sense in keeping it so I got rid of it” the man answered, but he didn’t miss the skeptical look that the two boys exchanged. “I guess I’ve been lucky since then, I haven’t run into any more of those lurkers”

“That’s… indeed a lot of luck” Sebastian replied, sarcastically. “Considering this fields are completely swarming with them”

“What do you know? You are safe and warm and comfortable in here, you don’t know how it is out there” the man retorted in annoyance.

“Oh, and how do you think we got here?” Sebastian contradicted him, his quick temper starting to appear. “We perfectly know how’s out there, mister”

“Seb, we better go see if Tina has found the keys” Blaine said, grabbing Sebastian’s arm to get him moving, seeing as he was starting to make the man angry –and he had a gun the fence wouldn’t protect them from.

Sebastian let himself be pulled away by his friend, knowing he had probably spoken too much and had let himself be controlled by his temper, but the click of a safety catch being removed made them stop dead on their tracks.

“Stop right where you are, kids” the man ordered, his tone of voice completely different than the one he had been using until then. “Raise your hands where I can see them and turn around slowly”

Knowing the man was pointing their gun at them, they had no choice but to obey. His heart beating like crazy, Blaine mentally willed Tina to hurry and get everyone outside. Otherwise, Sebastian and he were clearly in trouble.

“You’re going to open this door right now” the man ordered them.

“You said you were unarmed” Sebastian reproached him, though in reality he was just trying to gain some time for the others to come to their rescue.

“And you believed it?” the man answered with a laugh.

“No, we saw your gun from the beginning” Sebastian explained. “That’s why we didn’t let you in. We would have if you had been honest with us”

“I told you to open the door right now. I’m going to use this gun if you don’t” the man threatened them, pointing the weapon more firmly at them.

“We don’t have the keys” Blaine intervened, hoping his lie wouldn’t be too obvious.

“Well, turns out I also saw you looking for them in your pocket. So come on, let’s all stop pretending and open that damned door right now”

Blaine hesitated for a second, looking at Sebastian as if searching for an answer about what he should do. But the man was losing his patience, and he suddenly shot his gun at Blaine’s feet –though with no intention of hitting him for the moment– to make him react.

“Blaine!” Sebastian shouted in terror, before he was able to see that his friend was alright.

“Open that fucking door!”

“Alright, alright!” Blaine shouted in surrender as he decidedly took the keys from his pocket and moved to open the door of the fence, as he knew he had no choice. But before he could get the key into the lock, he heard some running steps behind them and sighed in relief that his friends had finally come to their rescue.

“What’s happening here?” Sam shouted, his voice shaking both with determination and fear, as he had undoubtedly heard the shot and feared the worst.

Both Sebastian and Blaine turned to look at them, and smiled when they noticed every one of their friends were there, pointing their weapons at the intruder.

“We just had a misunderstanding” Sebastian finally answered, giving free reign to his anger now that he felt empowered by the situation again. “This guy was just leaving”

“I’m not going anywhere” the man threatened again, even if he knew it was already a lost battle. “I can still kill those two before any of you can bat an eye”

“You really are going to risk fourteen guns pointing at you?” Santana asked, lifting her rifle enough to look through the scope, making it quite clear that she was intending to use it if it was necessary.

“I would put that down if I was you, Mister” Sam shouted from his place, and Blaine marveled at the firmness of his voice, even if he could see his hands were trembling.

The intruder could see there was no way out of the situation and he obeyed, lowering his gun with an angry sigh.

“Leave your gun on the floor” Blaine ordered, as there was no way he was going to let that man leave while still being a danger to them –he could very well wait until they turned around and shot them at their backs–. “I said leave it on the floor!” Blaine shouted angrily at him when he failed to obey.

“This place is too fucking good for some stupid kids like you” the man angrily retorted as he let his gun on the floor, still looking menacingly at Sebastian and Blaine.

“You better get going now” Puck’s voice sounded behind them. “Unless you want to check if we are stupid enough to fire our guns”

The man threw a last glance at Blaine that made his blood run cold with the silent threat it contained, and then he turned around and disappeared towards the adjacent woods. His disappearance got everyone out of their trance, and they ran towards where the two boys were standing, trying to regain his breath after the very real fear they had just experienced.

“Guys, you okay?” Trent asked as he worriedly patted Sebastian’s arm.

“You alright?” Sam said in a frenzy of worry, cupping Blaine’s face in his hands to see for himself that he was safe and sound, before throwing his arms around him in a strong embrace.

“Yeah, yeah, just a little shaken” Blaine answered, although he let himself be comforted by Sam’s strong arms, even if only for a second.

“A little?” Sebastian repeated with a humorless chuckle. “Blaine, that guy shot at you!”

“He shot at you?” Sam asked even more terrified than before, as he broke the embrace to look at the other boy, still grabbing his arms in an almost painful grip, begging him to tell him it was not true, his eyes wandering around Blaine’s body to make sure he wasn’t hurt.

“Not exactly, he didn’t want to hit me, he was just trying to get me moving” Blaine tried to calm everyone down, motioning for Sam to let go of his arms before he left any bruises and holding his hands in his instead.

“You sure you’re alright?” Sam asked again, more calmly this time as he squeezed Blaine’s hands.

“I’m sure” Blaine reassured him with a smile, moved by the more than evident worry in Sam’s eyes.

“Ok, then let’s get you boys inside” Sam said as he put his arm around Blaine and gently pushed him inside, as he saw Trent doing the same with Sebastian.

**********

“Here” Sam said as he placed a lime flower tea in front of Sebastian and another one in front of Blaine, once they were back inside.

Sam was quite obviously the most affected by the whole incident, and he had immediately gotten everyone into action, asking someone to prepare the beverages, someone else to get some blankets… He had once seen in _Sherlock_ that they always gave blankets to people who had been under stressful situations because of the shock, so it wouldn’t hurt to wrap the boys into a couple of them.

“Thank you” Blaine answered with a grateful smile as Sam sat down next to him and put his arm around his shoulders again to attract him to his side. Blaine knew Sam was probably more frightened than he was himself, and taking care of him like that probably helped him feel better, so he didn’t complain when Sam rearranged the blanket more securely around him and brought their chairs closer so Blaine could lean into his chest.

“Guys, we’re okay” Sebastian interrupted his thoughts, apparently not so patient about all the fussing they were given them. “It was just a fright but we didn’t get hurt or anything”

“But you could have” Sam tried to reason with him, shivering at the mere thought that they could have been shot right under their noses. “If Tina hadn’t come to get us…”

“I didn’t understand what was happening, I just did what Blaine asked me” she confessed, slightly ashamed about her lack of intuition.

“And you did very well” Blaine hurried to reassure her, making her feel guilty the last thing he wanted. “Fortunately you got everyone in time and no one was hurt”

“Son of a bitch…” Puck added while shaking his head, apparently quite shaken about it too, as everybody was. “At least we got his gun”

“Shit!” Sebastian exclaimed. “We left it there, he might come back to get it!”

“Don’t worry, dude, we took it” Puck answered, showing it to him with a satisfied smirk on his face.

“Everything ok, B?” Sam asked when he noticed his friend’s silence, and he squeezed him more strongly to him to let him know he was not alone and that he could share his worries with them.

“Yeah, it’s just… I’m not that sure we’ve seen the last of that man” he confessed, hating to make everyone worry but knowing he really didn’t have another option. The last glance he had thrown at him…

“You think he’ll be back?” Mike asked, as always being the first one to listen to what Blaine had to say.

“I don’t think he would dare” Puck answered for him. “There are so many more of us, and he knows it now”

“And what if he doesn’t come alone?” Blaine intervened, more harshly than intended, but he needed to make everyone understand the danger they could be in. “What if this guy was just testing the waters in behalf of a bigger group? Like an explorer or something”

A very uncomfortable silence fell upon the group as they tried to come to terms with what Blaine had said. Because, unfortunately, it made sense.

“So you think…” Joe tentatively asked “that we are in danger?”

“I don’t know” Blaine answered in complete honesty. “But I know we need to be more careful than ever. We need to keep watch all the time, and never go outside unarmed, as we so stupidly did today”

“Hey” Sam said as he reassuringly rubbed Blaine’s arm. “How were you to know?”

“Well, we can’t let it happen again” Blaine insisted.

“Sounds sensible” Mike agreed.

“And we should repair the exterior fence somehow” Sebastian added, remembering about the fear Blaine already had expressed even before that man appeared.

“Yes, but…” Blaine agreed, not sounding too convinced.

“What’s wrong?” Tina encouraged him to continue.

“I’m sure that man already heard us discussing about the hole in the fence” Blaine explained. “If he didn’t have the idea already to just cut the fence like we did, we surely gave it to him”

“The interior fence is much stronger, though, they won’t be able to cut it with some simple wire cutters” Sam intervened in a reassuring tone, wanting to erase that offending frown on Blaine’s brow that he hated so much.

“Let’s hope so” Blaine answered with a tired sigh, as he let his guard down for a second and let his head fall on Sam’s shoulder, who just closed the embrace more strongly around him in a protective manner.

“We should have killed him” Puck lamented, slamming the door with his hand in frustration.

“Were you going to shoot a living man? Because he was not a walker, you know?” Mike tried to reason with him, even though he knew Puck didn’t really mean it.

“I know” Puck admitted, pacing around the room to try and get rid of the anger in him. “Shit, I know”

“Everybody calm down now” Santana, who had remained silent until then, stood up to make herself heard. “We don’t know if he’s going to be back, or if he’s going to bring an army with him or whatever, so we’re just not going to freak out. We’ll just do as the hobbit said, we’ll just be more careful, and we will be safe. Even if they come, we’re still the ones in the best position, we’re the ones still inside this fortress, right?”

“Right” Puck agreed reluctantly, willing himself to believe in Santana’s words. “You’re right. So who’s supposed to be on guard duty now?”

“We are!” Sugar happily replied, signaling at Unique and herself.

“Ok, so then get going” Mike said with a grateful smile as the two girls complied and ran to do their duty.

Everybody else started relaxing and spreading around the place, finally feeling good enough for their daily activities. Everyone except Blaine and Sam, who were still sitting there as if they had been frozen in time, with Sam’s arms around Blaine’s smaller frame as the latter’s head rested on the blond’s shoulder.

“You can let go of him now, Sam, he is not going to disappear” Puck joked as he looked at the pair, and he smiled amusedly at them as his voice seemed to get Sam out of a trance.

“What, is there something wrong in trying to make your best friend feel better?” Sam answered all-too-casually as he let go of his friend, surprised himself he had gotten so lost in their embrace.

“No, of course not” Puck answered, shaking his head fondly at his friends as he left the room.

“You okay now?” Sam asked Blaine in a caring voice.

“Yeah” he assured him while trying not to show how much he was missing the contact already –and how much Sam’s intentional remark about them being friends to Puck had hurt him.

“Then I should go and help Jake with the cleaning of the kitchen. It’s my turn after all” Sam announced, trying to ignore the disappointment in Blaine’s eyes –once again– as he smiled shyly at him.

“Sure” Blaine answered as he watched the boy he loved moving further and further away from him without him being able to do anything about it.

**********

When Blaine woke up startled the next day, it was not even dawn yet. He wondered what had woken him up, but a sudden noise of thunder immediately gave him the answer. God, he hated storms. He hated rainy days in general, but storms were one of the few things he could really not stand. He remembered when he was little and he would get scared with the thunder. If it was the middle of the night, he never hesitated in throwing his little feet to the floor and run into his brother’s room to climb on his bed and under his arm, because he knew Cooper would take care of him. Sometimes Cooper would even come to his room first and lay down next to him, whispering stories and silly songs in his ear so he would concentrate in his voice and forget about the storms. Because Cooper was that kind of a hero.

Just thinking about his brother made Blaine want to burst into tears. Very carefully so as not to wake his lover, Blaine lifted the arm Sam was keeping around his waist and escaped from his grip to sit up, suddenly unable to lie still. The next thunder, that sounded even closer than the last one, made him jump out of his skin, and he closed his eyes, rested his head on his knees and tried to remember Cooper’s voice, telling him that it was okay to be afraid of storms but that he would make sure nothing would happen to him. Not for the first time, Blaine wished with all his heart that Cooper was there. At least that way he would know he was alright… And he would be able to tell him about Sam and what he made him feel, and ask him for some advice, and even cry on his shoulder when he needed to… And Cooper would listen to him and then he would embrace him with all his forces and somehow he would manage to make everything okay again.

“B?” a slurred voice said behind him, getting him out of his reverie.

“I’m here” Blaine whispered when he heard Sam’s arm blindly looking for him across the mattress.

“What are you doing up?” Sam asked as he sat up too to kiss Blaine’s cheek tenderly.

“I… couldn’t sleep” Blaine answered, not lying but not being too specific about it either.

“You okay?” Sam asked as he took Blaine’s hand in his own, and his voice was so full of caring and tenderness, like it usually was in the safety of their room, that it only made Blaine’s heart hurt even further.

“Yeah” he lied, a bit too quickly.

“You look…” Sam started to say, though he stopped himself before finishing.

“What?”

“Sad”

“It’s just… you know I don’t like storms” Blaine simply answered, even if that was just the tip of the iceberg and they both were very aware of that.

“Would some cuddles maybe help?” Sam immediately offered with a tender smile as he tuck some stray curl behind Blaine’s ear, just before laying back down and opening his arms for his friend. “Come back here and let me make it all better. It’s still dark anyway”

Blaine didn’t have the energy nor the strength to fight it and, once again, he let himself be comforted by the warmth of Sam’s embrace. As soon as he rested his head on Sam’s shoulder, both his arms closed around him, and the blond’s lips gently kissed the top of his head. And when the next thunder resounded all around the room and Sam only held onto him more strongly to protect him while humming some familiar melody, Blaine didn’t hate it so much.

And even if Blaine knew he was going to feel even worse in the morning, for once he couldn’t bring himself to care. For once he decided to pretend that all the love that he felt for the other boy was reciprocated. And it made him feel really warm inside.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I really need to apologize for the delay... As you know, I've been busy writing my very long fic for the blam week. Don't know if it was worth it, but well, it's done now, so... sorry! ;) Plus my new job has been very demanding!
> 
> And sorry too for all the drama... I promise the action will start again at the next chapter! And a lot of things are going to happen to compensate! Thank you for your patience and I hope you haven't lost all interest in the story yet!

It didn’t feel right. Waking up cold and thinking Blaine’s warm back against his chest would make it better, searching blindly for him at the other side of the bed and finding it empty again; though this time it wasn’t because Blaine was sitting up. It was because Blaine wasn’t there at all.

Sam had managed to open his eyes a crack –it was still heavily raining outside, so the light was not that intense even if it was already morning– and he was very disappointed and more than a little hurt that Blaine was nowhere to be seen. For the first time since they had… since they… well, since the first time they had slept together, that’s it. Whoever woke up first would always wait for the other –or, in Sam’s case, he usually woke Blaine up if he was feeling playful–. That way, they could talk and joke and kiss and start the day on the right foot and confront their harsh reality in better spirits. Blaine’s sudden absence felt so… wrong. He knew Blaine was not feeling good last night, and he knew how the rain didn’t help in the least to improve his mood, so he probably had needed to move and hadn’t wanted to disturb Sam’s sleep considering he had already kept him up for a while in the middle of the night because of the storm. But still… Sam had that horrible feeling that Blaine had left because he didn’t feel comfortable with him anymore.

With a sudden urge to see Blaine and embrace him to remind both of them how important they were for each other, Sam quickly got up from the mattress and searched for some clothes –not being able to help a little smirk on his face when he noticed there were clothes scattered all around the room that they had thrown there on some of their fits of passion–. He got dressed as fast as he could and practically ran towards the common room, expecting to find everybody there, as it was quite late.

And most of them were: some still having breakfast, others doing different tasks. Sam was glad Blaine was busy moping the floor –he remembered he had said it was his turn last night– so he was virtually alone in the crowded room and he could go to him and have some kind of discreet tender exchange that would put both their hearts at peace. But before he could reach him, Sebastian –always Sebastian– beat him to it, appearing out of nowhere with a bunch of clothes in his arms that he left on the nearest table so he could turn to Blaine.

“Hey, Killer” he said, smiling warmly at the shorter boy. “You want some help?”

“Oh, no, thanks, Seb” Blaine answered with a reciprocating smile, though Sam was sad to see it lacked its usual sparkle. “It’s my turn today”

“I wouldn’t mind” Sebastian insisted, and Sam sighed in annoyance as he sat down to eat, even though his eyes never moved from that flirtatious and obnoxious fucker.

“I believe you, but I can do it, it won’t be more than a second” Blaine answered with a grateful smile.

“I just wanted to help you because… you look kind of sad today” Sebastian said, lowering his voice so as to have more of a private conversation in the crowded room, and Sam had to prick up his ears to hear them over the conversation Puck, Artie and Kitty were loudly having around him.

“Do I?” Blaine asked, clearly annoyed that he hadn’t made a better job at pretending everything was fine. Or maybe Sebastian just knew him too well.

“Yeah” Sebastian confirmed with worry, squeezing his shoulder as he tried to offer some comfort even if he didn’t know from what. “You okay?”

“I guess I’m just nostalgic” Blaine answered with a shrug of his shoulders, stopping his task for a second to look at Sebastian as he leant on the mop handle, being the perfect picture of misery. “I got to thinking about my brother Cooper last night and it reminded me how much I miss him”

“Aw, poor thing, come here” Sebastian said as he comfortingly put his arms around Blaine’s frame and held onto him strongly for a few seconds.

Sam hated that tickling sensation on his guts at what he was seeing that had become so familiar lately and that he couldn’t keep pretending it wasn’t jealousy. Sebastian shouldn’t embrace Blaine like that, even if he was only trying to make Blaine feel better, because that was Sam’s responsibility and he should be the one doing it –Sebastian should know that already–. And in spite of how much that hug bothered him, it was not even the worse of it: what really hurt him was the fact that Blaine would confide Sebastian about Cooper but he hadn’t told him when he had asked him why he was feeling so sad last night. He was supposed to be his best friend after all, why would he talk to Sebastian and not him?

“Look, I think this might cheer you up” Sebastian said, completely oblivious to everything that was going on inside of Sam’s head, as he pointed at the small pile of clothes he had left on the table a minute ago.

“What is this?” Blaine asked, looking questioningly at his friend.

“Well, as I told you yesterday, it doesn’t seem fair that I have a full suitcase of clothes and you hardly have anything, so… there” Sebastian said, smiling obviously proud at himself at the amazement he could see in Blaine’s eyes. “Half of my stuff is yours. I know it might look a bit big on you, but… you’ll kill it anyway”

“No, Seb, how could I…?” Blaine tried to say, but he seemed too moved even to put some words together –which sent another sting of pain to Sam’s heart, as he hadn’t been able to put that look in Blaine’s face for a long time now.

“Just say thanks” Sebastian interrupted him, reassuringly rubbing on his shoulder as Blaine started going through the clothes to see what there was in there. “You know me enough to know I’m not taking no for an answer. And we’re not in a fashion show, I don’t need so many things” Sebastian looked so happy at his success in lifting Blaine’s mood that he unsurprisingly went into his usual flirty mood that Sam hated so much. “I even made sure to include the green sweater, it will go great with your amazing eyes”

“Thanks, Seb, you’re the best” Blaine said, and this time Sam rose from the table without a single word and left when he saw the shorter guy go for another hug of gratitude.

**********

The day was spent trying to fix the broken fence outside. Of course there was no possible way to replace the portion with the hole or to fix it, but they decided to tie the loose ends much more strongly and with a whole lot more of cable, as Trent suggested.

“This is a good idea” Puck said, appreciating Trent’s idea, as he used a tie-wrap to tie one of the loose areas. “That way they can still cut it, but it will take them a lot of time and we will be able to see them from inside if they do”

“Do you still think they will be back?” Tina asked, turning to Blaine, but the latter seemed to be lost in his own mind as he looked into the horizon, his gun held high in case he needed to use it to defend those of his friends who were working on the fence. “Blaine?”

“Sorry, what did you say?” Blaine asked, shaking his head to get rid of some worrying thoughts in his head, when he heard his name being said.

“You okay?” Sam asked as he rested his hand between Blaine’s shoulder blades before he could remember he was kind of annoyed at him, because taking care of Blaine was second nature to him and there was no way he wouldn’t try to comfort him if he was not alright, in spite of how at odds they were.

“Yes, it’s just…” Blaine answered, trying to put his fears into words. “I feel like we’re being watched”

“I feel it too” Mike intervened, even if he hadn’t said anything before because he thought he was imagining things.

“Guys, don’t you think you’re exaggerating a bit?” Unique asked, and she sounded desperate for an answer that would calm her nerves down.

“Yeah, probably” Blaine answered with a smile, not wanting to worry the others unnecessarily, but of course he couldn’t lie to Sam and the knowing looked he shared with him told the blond what he really thought about it.

“Let’s just go inside and get our head off things for a while” Sam suggested as he brought a hand to Blaine’s shoulder and squeezed it understandingly.

“That’s another good idea” Puck intervened as he and Brittany finished tying the last of the cable and followed everyone else inside.

**********

The rest of the day was spent indoors, thanks to the cold, the rain and the strange sensation of danger every time they so much as set a foot outside. So run-outs, basketball games or even walks had been forgotten and replaced by cards, silly games and napping. Which didn’t help to keep up the moods of the most restless of them, like Blaine. Or Sam. Sam was not someone who couldn’t be still, like Blaine, but he usually needed some kind of physical activity to get the extra stamina out of his system, so being locked indoors wasn’t really his thing. Especially if he still felt annoyed at Blaine, and Sebastian kept getting in their way every time he got a chance.

It was Blaine’s and Sam’s turn to keep watch that night, on top of everything, and Sam thought there couldn’t have been a worse day for that. At least in their room they were great at keeping all their worries and complications outside the door and being themselves, having fun and comforting each other as if there was no one else in the world. But keeping watch was hard, tiring and boring, and being at odds would surely not help make it any easier.

Of course only Sam knew they were at odds. Blaine had no idea what was going on in his head or how much his friendship with Sebastian was bothering the blond, but he could feel there was something going on. That’s why he had been asking Sam if he was alright every now and then for a good while, after the first three or four attempts at starting a normal conversation had failed. But if Blaine was stubborn, Sam was even more, and he had refused to answer each and every time because he knew he was being an idiot with the whole Sebastian thing and he didn’t have the right to reproach Blaine for it. But Blaine’s eyes were getting sadder and more confused every time, and he knew he was not going to resist much longer.

**********

Meanwhile everybody was just getting ready to turn in for the night. As he looked for his pajamas in the suitcase he kept under his bed, Sebastian noticed his green sweater was still there, and he had not given it to Blaine amongst the other clothes as he had told him that morning.

He thought about going to the main door, where he knew he and Sam were keeping watch that night, and directly giving it to him. But if he knew Blaine, he was sure the short guy would downright refuse any more addictions to the already big pile of clothing Sebastian had given him that morning and that it had moved him so much, Sebastian remembered with a satisfied smile. He adored his friend, and if there was anything he could do to put a smile on his face those days, he would do it. Especially when he was guessing things with Sam weren’t going as he would like them to go, as much as he denied it.

So if directly giving the sweater to Blaine was not an option, the easiest way to make sure he got it would be to go to his room and sneak it with the rest of the clothes; maybe Sebastian would be lucky and Blaine wouldn’t even notice it.

Confident in the knowledge that neither Blaine nor Sam would be in their cell, Sebastian went up the stairs and walked directly into their room. He was grateful he was carrying a flashlight, because otherwise he would have tripped with those mattresses lying on the floor. Wait, what? Sebastian pointed the flashlight towards the makeshift bed and was surprised to find they had turned the mattresses into a queen sized bed, and the blankets covering them were set to be shared, and not one for each of them. Surprised and more than a little amused, he decided to investigate further, and one quick look around the room showed Sebastian there were some clothing items scattered and forgotten around the room, as if… they had been thrown there in a fit of passion? Was that even possible?

The corner of Sebastian’s smile turned up on its own accord as he discovered the big secret those two had been keeping so well hidden. So they had been together all along, right? Just wait until he would get the chance to talk to Blaine again, he joked to himself, he was going to hear him for lying to him. And then he would congratulate him. But first he was going to hear him, that was for sure.

But wait… why would Blaine confide in him with that kiss and his feelings for Sam at the beginning and then lie to him so blatantly? And now that he thought about it… Blaine seemed to be sadder and sadder every day, instead of being over the moon as he should. Just that same morning he had seemed close to tears, for God’s sake! Maybe things were not going that well in spite of everything? Maybe… maybe Sam was not giving him what he needed and he still thought it was a bad idea, even if they were so obviously sleeping together? Maybe that was what it was for Sam? Just sex?

Not so happy at his discovery anymore, Sebastian did what he had planned and put the sweater amongst the rest of Blaine’s clothes on the top bed and left, his heart feeling heavier as he thought he really needed to talk to Blaine, even if it was for different reasons than initially planned.

**********

Downstairs, as Blaine and Sam kept watch, the cold atmosphere between them was translated into real cold for the always sensitive Blaine, who suddenly shivered and hurried to throw another sweatshirt over him in an attempt of keeping warm.

“Is this one of the sweatshirts Sebastian gave to you?” Sam asked with a slight disdain that luckily Blaine wasn’t able to detect.

“Oh, you heard?” Blaine asked, looking down at his new piece of clothing with a smile, great that Sam was finally talking. “He’s great, isn’t he?”

“Oh, indeed he is” Sam answered, and this time the sarcasm was so obvious in his voice that not even the usually oblivious Blaine could miss it.

“What’s wrong, Sam?” Blaine asked in utter confusion.

“Nothing” Sam answered, deliberately avoiding Blaine’s glance in embarrassment, knowing he was behaving like a spoilt kid even if he couldn’t help it.

“Don’t give me that, Sam. I can tell something is bothering you” Blaine insisted, surprised at Sam’s attitude because he usually was the sweetest guy around and he was behaving very strangely –in fact, he had been doing it all day.

“Well, you’re wrong” Sam answered too quickly, not wanting to say he was jealous of Sebastian because he knew he didn’t have the right to be, although he knew he was going to blurt it out if Blaine kept insisting –which he was going to for sure because well, that was Blaine, stubborn like a mule, especially if it was over something concerning Sam.

“I’m not, I know you too well” Blaine insisted, and Sam couldn’t believe that, in spite of all the shit he was giving him, Blaine still sounded reassuring, comforting, as if he was ready to accept and understand whatever it was that was bothering Sam. “Talk to me, Sam”

“Can I be totally honest with you?” Sam asked, unable to remain silent anymore.

“Of course” Blaine answered, almost offended at the idea that Sam would even need to ask.

“I don’t like you flirting with Sebastian” Sam blurted out, and the total surprise that appeared in Blaine’s face at his statement told him that he was probably imagining things.

“I’m not flirting with Sebastian” Blaine answered, his face a mixture of confusion and astonishment. Was Sam jealous of his close relationship with the warbler? Or was he jealous because he thought there was something going on between them?

“Well, then he’s flirting with you, and you’re letting him” Sam reproached him before he could stop himself.

“He is not, it’s just how our friendship has always been. He’s not interested in me more than as a friend” Blaine explained, trying to defend himself even if he knew he had done nothing wrong. “Is this because of the clothes?”

“No”

“Because I left everything on the top bed of our room, so we can both use it, we’ll share it like everything else”

“I don’t want anything coming from him” Sam said, and he hated how childish that sound even to his own ears.

“What? What’s your problem with him?” Blaine asked in complete surprise: he had always thought Sam to be so sensible and kind, what was happening to him now?

“Why didn’t you talk to me about Cooper?” Sam asked in what felt like a total change of subject, which only made Blaine get more confused.

“What does my brother have to do with this?” he asked, trying to keep up with a conversation he could not understand.

“I asked you last night why you were so sad, and you told me it was about the stupid storm. Yet you opened your heart to Sebastian in the morning, didn’t you?”

“Sam, it was the middle of the night, I didn’t think it was the right time to have a heart to heart conversation”

“I would have listened to you” Sam retorted angrily, and he seemed so offended that Blaine felt momentarily guilty, even if his only intention had been to let Sam sleep.

“I know, that’s why I didn’t say anything, you needed your sleep” Blaine tried to make him understand, but Sam was so blinded with jealousy that he was not ready to be convinced.

“Yet with Sebastian it’s always the right time, right?” Sam reproached the shorter boy, who by then was starting to get angry at all the accusations he didn’t think he deserved –nor Sebastian did.

“Excuse me? What the hell did Sebastian do to you?” Blaine angrily asked, more than a little tired at Sam’s irrational attitude.

“I told you, I don’t like him flirting with you even if you don’t see it” Sam answered with a sigh, as if he was tired of explaining the obvious, which only seemed to make enrage Blaine even further.

“I don’t see it because it’s not true!” Blaine practically yelled at him, feeling angry he was being forced to defend himself about something that wasn’t true. “But what if he was?”

“Well, I don’t like it”

“Why?”

“Do I really need to tell you why?” Sam asked with a humorless chuckle.

“Yes, please, enlighten me about why I should keep away from my friend” Blaine answered with all the sarcasm he could muster.

“Because… Because it bothers me, isn’t that enough for you?” Sam asked, sounding as if he saw himself as the victim in all that, something which Blaine was not going to tolerate.

“Oh, because you happen to care so much about what I feel lately, right?” Blaine retorted in full sarcasm, and he was about to continue until he saw Puck coming to them and he bit his tongue before he said something that would put them in a difficult situation –because even if he didn’t agree with Sam’s desire to keep their relationship a secret, he was not going to make that decision for him.

“Hey, guys” Puck waved at them, but the tension must have been very obvious in their faces because he could instantly see something was wrong. “Oops, am I interrupting something? Lovers’ fight?”

“Do you always have to say these stupid things, Puck?” Sam angrily answered, something Puck surely hadn’t been expecting.

“Hey, I was only kidding, no need to bite my head off” Puck responded in a pacifying tone, not wanting to be driven into a silly fight when Sam was probably just tired after his watch.

“Well, maybe I’m tired of you kidding all the time”

“Ok, I’m sorry. I was just coming to replace you, Jake is on his way too”

“Great” Sam answered as he stood up without a second glance to his older friend. “Come on, Blaine, I think we really need some sleep”

Of course the last thing Blaine felt like doing was obeying Sam, but he didn’t want to make a scene in front of Puck so he just smiled apologetically at him and stood up to follow the blond. Sam’s angry pace was fast, and Blaine struggled to keep up with him, but as soon as they were in the security of their room, he couldn’t stay silent anymore.

“Did you have to be such a jerk to Puck?” he reproached the other guy, who was already getting his sweater off to get into bed.

“Don’t give me that” Sam answered in a menacing tone, just wanting to get himself under the blankets and sleep until all the anger in him would disappear.

“Yes, yes I will give you that if you’re behaving like an asshole” Blaine replied, for once not caring so much about how his words were going to be received.

“Oh, I’m sorry, since when are you in the position to tell me what I can or cannot say? Who do you think you are?” Sam retorted sarcastically while he sat on the mattress, but he regretted it almost instantly when he raised his glance and saw the raging pain that has appeared in Blaine’s eyes at his hurtful words.

“I’m no one, I get it, I will shut the fuck up once and for all” Blaine answered in merely more than a whisper as he silently lay down in the other side of the bed, as far away from Sam as it was physically possible.

“Blaine, I’m sorry” Sam immediately apologized, regretting that he had let himself be so blindly jealous that he had ended up hurting the one he was trying to protect.

“Save it” Blaine answered, turning on his side so he would give his back to Sam.

Sam sighed sadly and lay down too, and he could feel his heart breaking at the distance between them –both physical and emotional– that had never been there before. He could feel his eyes swarming with tears at the sadness that emanated from the other boy, and his hand moved on its own accord to lightly trace the path of Blaine’s spine on his back.

“B, please…” Sam pleaded when his touch didn’t elicit any reaction.

“Just… let me sleep, ok?” Blaine begged as he moved even further away to avoid Sam’s touch.

And Sam had never felt lonelier and guiltier than what he did in that moment.

**********

Sam realized he must have been really tired to fall asleep even after what had happened between Blaine and him that morning and that it had shaken him so much. Blaine hadn’t been that lucky, apparently, because of course he wasn’t there when Sam woke up and the sheets on his side of the bed were barely wrinkled and very cold by then.

But come on, that was stupid. He knew he had been completely over the line, but it was just a silly fight, right? He would apologize and he would beg for Blaine’s forgiveness as much as the other boy needed, because he deserved that and much more after how great he had always been to Sam and how stupid he had been to him in return. There was no place for stupid prides in his relationship with Blaine, and he was going to show him how sorry he was for his words and the pain they had caused.

With a renewed hope that he would be able to make everything better, Sam jumped from the bed, got dressed again and practically ran downstairs, feeling really impatient about seeing his friend. But he wasn’t on the common room, as expected, and Sam didn’t know where he could be.

“Has anybody seen Blaine?” he asked to the people there, trying to sound casual so nobody would guess about their fallout.

“He’s on the kitchen garden” Sebastian replied, looking judgingly at Sam even if the latter couldn’t understand why. “But he was still feeling kind of sad. He said he felt like being alone for a while” he warned him, because Blaine had come down from his nap looking worse than ever and he had refused to talk to him, claiming he really needed some time for himself.

“That doesn’t include me, you know?” Sam answered with a snort as he turned to go, because that should be obvious, right?

“Maybe it is precisely about you” Sebastian replied before he could stop himself, and he regretted it when he saw Sam stopping to look questioningly at him.

“What do you mean?” he asked, confused and annoyed in equal parts.

“Nothing, just… forget it” Sebastian answered when he noticed a couple of surprised looks around him, and he turned his attention to the game of cards he was playing with Kitty, pointedly ignoring Sam.

Sam seemed to take the hint and decided to ignore Sebastian in return and continue his search of his best friend. As Sebastian had said, Blaine was on the little garden behind the kitchen where they had planted the seeds Brittany had picked on the supermarket, taking advantage of the fact that it had stopped raining for a while. He looked as if he was pretending to be taking care of them, but Sam could easily see his heart was not in it by the lost expression in his eyes. He must be feeling really upset to be out in the open like that even if just that morning he had said he felt as if they were being watched, Sam noticed, and he knew he had to make things better and quickly if he didn’t want to lose him forever.

“Hey” Sam said, trying to sound cheerful, but Blaine’s serious expression instead of the sweet and warm smile he usually gave him immediately told him it was not going to be easy.

“Hey” Blaine answered as he looked up and saw who it was, sounding as if he didn’t want to even reply to Sam’s greeting but was too well-mannered not to do it.

“You didn’t wait for me” Sam kindly reproached him as he arrived in front of him.

They never kissed outside the privacy of their room, but Sam could feel Blaine needed some kind of loving gesture –and frankly, he did too–. So after looking everywhere around them like a thousand times to make sure there was no one-around, he went to find Blaine’s lips with his own, though the latter refused him by turning his face to the side. Something that had never happened before, and it made Sam quickly realize things seemed to be even more screwed up than he had thought.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked, his voice a mixture of worry and repentance that almost made Blaine surrender –and maybe he would have surrendered if only Sam hadn’t checked so many times around him before trying to kiss him–. “Are you still angry at me because of what I said this morning? Look, I was being an idiot, I’m sorry, ok? I’ll apologize to Puck too later, I promise”

“What am I to you?” Blaine suddenly asked. He hadn’t mean to be so harsh and direct, but by then he was hurting so bad there was no other way for him to put it. And it surely was time to stop beating about the bushes anyway.

“What is this?” Sam asked, and he sounded as if the was just trying to gain some time to think about what to answer.

“Just answer me, please” Blaine begged, making Sam wonder if his eyes had ever looked sadder.

“Do we need to talk about this here?” Sam asked, feigning to want to avoid making a scene even if there was no one there right now –though what he really was terrified about was the conversation they were about to have.

“Yes, you’re not avoiding me anymore” Blaine answered, defeated but resolute. “What am I to you?”

Sam took a moment before daring to say a word. He knew he couldn’t avoid it any longer, he knew Blaine was hurting and that he owed him an answer, but… he was afraid he was going to make things even worse with his answer.

“You’re my bro” he finally answered, and he felt a stab of pain in his own chest when he could see Blaine’s heart breaking through his expressive and gorgeous eyes.

“That’s it? That’s what I am to you?” Blaine asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.

“What do you want me to say?” Sam replied, defeated, feeling like the greatest coward of all times.

“I don’t know, but… your bro?” Blaine insisted with a humorless laugh, and Sam couldn’t decide what he was feeling the most, angry or sad, or it was a mixture of both. “We’ve been sleeping together for weeks!”

“That doesn’t mean… It’s just… It helps us feel better and cope with everything” Sam tried to reason with him, because wasn’t that how it had started?

“So what, we’re just fucking?” Blaine asked, his eyes impossibly wide with indignation.

“Of course not, don’t say it like that” Sam answered, offended that Blaine would think that about him –even if he had to admit it probably looked like that.

“Well, you made it sound like that”

“No, Blaine, you know I…”

“You what?”

“I… care about you”

“Like you would care about a friend” Blaine said, hoping against hope that Sam would contradict him.

“Not exactly, more like… a very special friend. The best of them” Sam answered, trying to convince Blaine that he wasn’t just another one of his friends… even though he knew that was not what Blaine wanted to hear.

“Great” Blaine sarcastically replied, shaking his head in a sad motion. “Just great, Sam”

“But why do we have to make this more complicated?” Sam insisted, trying to make Blaine understand what his point of view was. “I thought you were okay with this, as I am”

“That was our mistake, I guess, we never stopped to discuss what it meant for us” Blaine admitted, because it was true that they hadn’t talked about it. “Obviously it was not the same for me than for you”

“I thought it was about… comforting each other”

“Just tell me something: were you aware than it was more than that for me?”

“I wasn’t sure” Sam answered in no more than a whisper, lowering his gaze in shame.

“But you suspected it” Blaine answered, more in affirmation than as a question. “That’s why you never wanted to talk about it, in case I confirmed it and it made you feel guilty, right? It was easier this way”

“I never made any promises to you” Sam reminded him.

“You’re right. You never did” Blaine admitted with the saddest sigh, knowing he was also to blame for not facing Sam sooner. “I’m sorry I assumed more than what it really was”

“Blaine, I’m so sorry” Sam apologized again, terrified when Blaine shook his head and started walking away from him at what felt like an ending he wasn’t sure he could cope with. “I never wanted to hurt you, you have to believe me”

“Just forget it, Sam” Blaine answered with no more fight left on him as he walked by Sam, but he turned around first to say something else. “And just so you know, I’m not interested in Sebastian as more than a friend. Because I love _you_ , it’s as simple as that” Blaine confessed, breaking Sam’s heart just a little bit more with the intensity of his emotions. “And even if you don’t want anything to do with me, it wouldn’t be fair for me to try and initiate something with Sebastian or anyone else for that matter while being in love with you, you know? But he’s my friend, a very good one, and I’m not going to change my way of interacting with him just because it doesn’t sit right with your ego. I don’t owe you anything, after all. You made it pretty clear that I don’t belong to you, didn’t you?”

“Blaine, please, I care about you, a lot” Sam begged as he walked to Blaine and picked his hands in his in a desperate move.

“Sam, don’t. Please” Blaine pleaded for him to let go, his eyes getting glassy as his voice broke. “Let’s just leave it like that”

“I don’t want to lose you” Sam insisted, squeezing his hands when he could see Blaine’s resolution breaking.

“Please” Blaine begged with a sob, pleading for Sam not to make it even more difficult for him, and in the end Sam couldn’t ignore his request any longer and he let go of Blaine’s hands, his own heart breaking into a million paces as he got to watch Blaine practically running away from him.

**********

They didn’t talk for the rest of the day, as Blaine was clearly avoiding Sam and the latter didn’t want to impose too much and wanted to give him some space, which he seem to desperately need after their conversation. The fact that they didn’t talk didn’t mean that Sam was not keeping an eye on him, and of course he hadn’t missed his red eyes when he finally came down from their shared room or the way his hunched shoulders made him look smaller than ever. He was dying to go to him and wrap him in his arms until he could erase any trace of sadness from him –that he had put there, he was very aware of that–, but he would wait until they were alone in the security of their room at night to attempt to talk to him again.

Apparently Sebastian hadn’t missed any of those signs either and he hadn’t moved more than a couple of feet away from him since Blaine had returned to the common room. He had refrained from making any comments about Blaine’s appearance or about the unusual fact that he was keeping himself far away from Sam, but he had been trying to entice Blaine in a conversation all afternoon, offering light words and frequent half embraces to the devastated boy that, in spite of all the jealousy they elicited, they also made Sam feel better because he knew someone was there for Blaine, even if it wasn’t him.

“I’m supposed to keep watch tonight with Trent” Sebastian said to the ones remaining around the table once they finished their dinner and some of them had already gone to bed. “But he’s feeling a bit under the weather, so I thought maybe we could spare him tonight”

“Sure, of course” Mike immediately agreed, as he had already noticed how Trent did look a little ill that afternoon.

“Want to take his place and keep watch with me, Killer?” Sebastian asked, turned to the boy at his side, as he didn’t want to lose sight of him just yet.

“Well, that’s a stupid idea” Sam intervened with a sarcastic snort before he could even stop himself.

“Excuse me?” Sebastian asked, and he was annoyed enough at Sam and about what he suspected he was doing to Blaine to let that comment pass.

“Well… Blaine always keeps watch with me” Sam explained, hating how he had brought all the attention on himself, but there was no way out now but to answer.

“So?”

“So that’s it, he…”

“He can speak for himself, thank you very much” Blaine intervened, a quick anger replacing the deep sadness from the hours prior to that.

“Why do you always have to do everything together anyway? It’s not like you’re a couple or anything, right?” Sebastian pointedly asked, and Sam wondered, not for the first time, if Sebastian knew more of what was happening than he should.

“Of course not!” Sam hurried to answer, not missing the flash of hurt that crossed Blaine’s face at his denial so he tried to fix it. “But we’re best friends and we know each other like the back of our own hands. We make a great team and we should take advantage of that”

“Best friends” Sebastian repeated cynically.

“Yeah”

“You know what? Sebastian is right, there is no reason why we shouldn’t work with other people, is it?” Blaine intervened, looking intently at Sam and pleading for him to contradict him and say that there was indeed a very good reason for that. But of course Sam was going to disappoint him once again.

“I guess not” Sam answered with a small voice, hating to hurt Blaine yet once again but not being able to avoid it in front of all these people.

“Good” Blaine answered, almost defiantly, as he stood from his chair and rested his hand on Sebastian’s shoulder. “I will stand guard with you tonight, Seb”

“Great” Sebastian answered with a small victorious smile as he stood up too.

“You can’t, you stood guard all night yesterday and you didn’t sleep much after that, you need your rest” Sam tried to convince him to let it go, not thinking about Sebastian this time but about Blaine’s wellbeing.

“You don’t get to tell me what I can or can’t do, _bro_ ” Blaine retorted angrily, surprising everybody even if they refrained to comment on it, and Sam wondered if the real reason for Blaine keeping watch again that night was that he didn’t want to go to their room with him. And that thought scared him more than any words could. “Let’s get some food ready for the night, Seb”

“After you, Killer” Sebastian answered as he gently pushed Blaine in front of him to get him moving before he changed his mind.

Everybody sat there in silence, watching the two boys go and wondering what the hell had happened for Blaine to sound so angry. They had all noticed his red eyes in the afternoon, but he had said he was nostalgic and missing Cooper in the morning, so they had assumed it had something to do with that. But fighting with Sam instead of going to him for comfort? And Sam accepting it instead of just following him to make it better? It was all too strange.

“Sam…” Artie started, wanting to ask the blond if everything was alright between them, but Sam sighed and got up before he could even begin his question.

“Good night, guys” Sam said before turning to leave the room, effectively putting an end to any possible questions of his friends. He knew they meant well, but there was no way he could answer them without revealing too much. Or without breaking down. So the only thing he could do was to go to bed and hope he could get some sleep, which he knew it was not going to be easy.

**********

An hour later Sam was still tossing and turning on the mattress, and he hadn’t been able to close his eyes for even a second. He couldn’t stop thinking about Blaine and the pain in his eyes, and his hand kept moving to Blaine’s empty side of the bed to rest there without him even noticing. He missed him, it was the first time they were not going to sleep in the same room, or even the same bed, since they had left the hospital, and Sam couldn’t forget for a second that it was entirely his fault.

But come on, that was absurd! Were they going to throw away everything that had happened between them because of a stupid misunderstanding? Of course Blaine meant the world to him. Of course he was not just a friend for him and of course he hadn’t been just sleeping with him just for the sake of it. And it broke his heart that Blaine could think that, even if he had practically told him that himself. They just needed to talk about it and find a solution that would satisfy them both. They had always been able to talk about everything, what was different that time?

Promising himself he was not going to take no for an answer, he got up from the bed and made his way downstairs. Ok, Blaine was supposed to be keeping watch, but Sebastian could spare him for a few minutes while they talked, right? Or maybe Sam could take his place and stay there with Blaine the rest of the night. That would give them more time to make up and be with each other, right? He desperately needed to be with Blaine, to hold his hand in his and kiss it every now and then, to hug him and squeeze him to his chest, marveling at how well his small frame fitted against his bulkier one… They were made for each other, independently of the label they used to describe what they had, and he was going to make him see that.

He almost shouted with surprise and indignation when he arrived to the entrance and found Blaine tightly wrapped in Sebastian’s arms. So it was just his imagination, huh? Blaine hadn’t taken that long to replace him, especially considering he claimed not to have any feelings for Sebastian…

He was still trying to decide if he should make a scene or simply walk away from them when a noise caught his attention. A sob. From Blaine. And a shushing sound from Sebastian as he comfortingly run his hands along Blaine’s back as more sobs came along. And Sam’s heart broke all over again at hearing the anguish of the person who mattered the most in the world to him. Because Blaine wasn’t cheating on him by any means, but suffering as Sebastian tried to comfort him.

“Come on, Blaine” Sebastian urged him as he held him even more strongly. “You know you can talk to me. I know this is about Sam, why can’t you tell me what happened?”

“I can’t tell you” Sam heard him answer, and he couldn’t believe how in spite of all the shit he had put him through and how much he had hurt him, Blaine still was loyal to him in every way and was still incapable of going against his wishes about the others knowing about them. Even Sebastian, who seemed to have figured everything out anyway.

Sam didn’t know what to do: those devastated sobs were killing him, as he could see that Blaine was even more hurt that he had imagined. But if he walked to them right then it would look as if he had been spying on them to make sure nothing happened, and it would only make things worse.

“Ok, don’t tell me if you can’t” Sebastian continued in the same reassuring tone as before, still caressing his back diligently. “But you need to calm down. Whatever it is, I’m sure you both can work it out”

“No, not this time” Blaine answered, apparently unable to stop sobbing now that he had started, as he had probably been holding on for the whole day. “It can’t be. It’s over”

Sam felt as if he had received a punch directly to his chest. He couldn’t even breathe after Blaine’s words and the conviction in them. So that was it? Had he screwed it so much that it couldn’t be fixed? Was Blaine that hurt that he couldn’t even give him another chance?

His own eyes swarming with tears, Sam took advantage of the fact he hadn’t been noticed to turn around and disappear again. And his heart had never felt emptier than how it did at the moment.

**********

Sam hadn’t fallen asleep until the early hours, too busy he was trying to control his tears and put his feelings in order. He couldn’t believe he had lost Blaine like that. Would he now move to a different room? Would he always avoid him and choose Sebastian’s company over his? Would he always carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, like he had done the day before?

Blaine had said it was over. That it couldn’t be. Because he and Sam were not in the same place. But they were. There. He had admitted. He loved Blaine just as much as Blaine loved him, and the fact that he had been a coward until then didn’t mean it wasn’t true. He just needed to explain it to him. Because he couldn’t believe they were over.

No. It was not that he couldn’t believe it. He was just simply not going to accept it.

Sebastian and Blaine were just finishing their watch when Sam made it downstairs, and this time Sam didn’t remain in the shadows and walked directly to the shorter boy. Gosh, he looked horrible: his eyes were red and puffy from lack of sleep –and from crying, Sam hated to remember–, and his shoulders couldn’t be more slumbered. But even like that, he looked incredibly beautiful. And surprised when Sam stood in front of him and tried to stop his advances. But Blaine was still too hurt and tried to avoid him.

“B…” Sam begged as he took Blaine’s hand to stop him, sending a pleading look at Sebastian to leave them alone, to which the taller boy immediately complied.

“Let go of me” Blaine answered in a soft but determined tone.

“I was hoping we could talk…” Sam insisted, refusing to simply let go and picking up his other hand instead, hoping to soften Blaine’s huge heart so he would give him a chance to make it better.

“We said everything we had to say” Blaine answered, though Sam could see his resolution faltering and he knew he had to take advantage of that.

“No, B, come on, I need…” Sam tried to say, but Blaine interrupted him before he could finish.

“And I need to sleep, Sam, I’m exhausted” he retorted, regaining his stubbornness immediately when Sam had tried –again– to talk about what _he_ needed, instead of the other way around.

“Blaine…” Sam insisted, his own voice shaking with fear as he squeezed his hands again.

“Someone will see us and we don’t want that, right?” Blaine coldly answered before he extricated his hands from Sam’s grip in one brusque movement and disappeared towards the stairs, leaving Sam there, standing stupidly and immobile without knowing what to do.

He debated with himself if he should maybe follow Blaine to their room and insist for him to talk until he surrendered, but he knew Blaine was exhausted and he needed to sleep before he could even try to put his thoughts in order. He needed some time? Sam would give it to him. He would give him anything he needed, he had already decided that. Even if the waiting was killing him.

The turmoil inside of him must have been pretty obvious, because as soon as he entered the common room all the eyes turned to him. He simply managed a smile that resembled more to a grimace as a greeting and sat down. He didn’t feel like eating anything, but at least he could have a cup of hot coffee to clear his mind, right?

“Sam, you look awful” Brittany said, looking worriedly at him.

“I didn’t get much sleep last night” Sam answered with a grateful smile even if he didn’t offer any further explanation.

Puck was about to joke about how sweet it was that he couldn’t sleep without Blaine at his side, but refrained from it in the last second, remembering how his last attempt of joking about their couply behavior had been received the day before. Sam had apologized to him already, but that didn’t mean he would appreciate the comment, and the last thing Puck wanted was to make him feel uncomfortable –or be in the receiving end of his wrath again.

The quiet peace of their breakfast was suddenly interrupted with a terrifying din coming from outside that made them jump from their skins and even made some of them lost their grip on their cups.

“What the hell was that?” Sugar asked, looking at everybody else in a desperate need for an answer.

“It sounded like an explosion” Joe answered, before Puck and Kitty ran to the nearest window and took a peak outside.

“Guys, they blew up the fence!” Kitty explained in utter terror. “They’re back!”

As everybody started pacing and screaming around him, without knowing what to do, the only thing that crossed Sam’s mind was that they were in danger and someone was not there so he could check he was alright: Blaine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it! Sorry again for the lack of action and all the heartbreak but, as you can see, everything is about to change! Keep alert!


	16. Chapter 16

“Blaine was right, that man was not alone” Puck said as he and some of the others rushed to grab their weapons, but they were paralyzed by a voice coming from outside.

“We’re going to give you the chance to leave!” the voice they recognized as that of the man that had threatened Blaine and Sebastian yelled from outside –and it sounded way closer than expected. “We just want to take everything you’re storing inside, but we won’t hesitate to kill you if you resist”

“They don’t even want the place, we could give them some of our things and no one would end up hurt” Marley suggested, desperate to avoid a confrontation.

“Do you really think they won’t try to kill us?” Puck, disbelieving at Marley’s naivety. “They won’t let us go like that, they won’t trust us not to come back, just as we didn’t trust that man. They will kill us as soon as we set a foot outside”

“And even if they didn’t, do you really think we can make it out there without any weapons?” Kitty tried to reason with her. “We can’t just go. We have to fight”

“Someone will get killed” Marley insisted, even if she could see she was losing the battle.

“Yeah” Puck assured her without hesitation. “Let’s make sure it’s not us”

“Everybody take a place in a window and start shooting!” Mike ordered, and there was so much resolution in his voice that no one hesitated to obey.

“But…” Marley tried one last time, horrified at the idea of killing people like that.

“Do you want to live?” Jake told his girlfriend as he gently grabbed her upper arms and slightly shook her to make her react.

“They’re not walkers” she whispered as her eyes filled with tears.

“They’re not going to be so considerate to you if they make it inside, so start shooting!” Jake encouraged her as he pushed her to a window and put a gun on her hands.

Sam did as he had been told and went to take his place on one of the windows, which he hit with his gun to break the glass so he could comfortably shoot through it. Trent stood next to him, but Sam didn’t even notice, as his eyes only kept moving to the corridor that led to the cells, waiting for Blaine to appear. There was no way the explosion hadn’t woke him up –and that considering he had already been asleep, something highly improbable after the events of the previous day–, so why wasn’t he coming to see what all the commotion was about? Or Sebastian? Would they be alright?

**********

Blaine had just closed his eyes when the explosion took place. He sat up, completely disoriented at the sudden and brusque interruption of his sleep, and tried to prick up his ears to hear anything else. He didn’t, but he was sure that the noise that had woken up couldn’t be a good thing. If he didn’t know it was impossible, he would have sworn that the floor had even trembled for a moment. Glad that in his exhaustion and low mood he hadn’t bothered to undress before getting into bed, he jumped on his feet, took all the weapons he could carry with him and ran outside the room, lamenting there were no windows on that part of the prison to see if there was something going out outside.

He was reaching the last of the stairs when he saw Sebastian leaving his own cell, with the same confused expression he was sure he was carrying himself, and he hurried even farther to catch up with him.

“What the hell was that?” Sebastian asked as they reunited at the bottom of the stairs.

“I don’t know, I was just going to the common area to see what the others knew” Blaine explained. “Do you have your weapons with you?”

“Yeah, every one of them” Sebastian answered as he showed him the gun he was carrying in his hands. “Do you think we’re going to need them?”

“I only know we need to be ready” Blaine answered while starting to walk already and expecting Sebastian to follow him.

What they weren’t expecting, though, was the gate that separated the cells from the corridor that lead to the common area, and that had been kept open until then, had closed with the force of the explosion.

“I can’t open it” Blaine explained as he tried unsuccessfully to move the door.

“It’s one of those doors that lock itself when they close” Sebastian guessed, also shaking it to prove his point. “We won’t be able to open it again without the right key”

“Fuck” Blaine exclaimed as he gave a small kick at the gate, and Sebastian could see how frustrated he was by the fact that he didn’t usually swear. “I’ve never seen that key, it’s not in that set we found with the officer”

“I know, it probably was with the keys of all the cells, who knows where” Sebastian answered, calmly resting a comforting hand on Blaine’s shoulder.

“Hello?” Blaine yelled in the corridor’s direction, hoping one of the others would hear them and come to their rescue. “Can anyone hear us?”

“I don’t think they can’t hear us from the common room” Sebastian said with resignation on his voice.

But before Blaine could answer, the sound of a shot filled the silence of the corridor and made their hearts tremble with fear.

**********

“That was just a warning!” Puck yelled through a window to the strangers outside after firing a deterrent shot. “Either you leave now or you’ll pay for destroying our fence!”

It was almost a miracle that the bullet he got as an answer didn’t impact directly on his face, as he was barely quick enough to duck for it to pass over his head.

“We are not going to surrender to a bunch of kids” A voice shouted from the outside. “If you want to fight, fine. This is our answer”

Before any of the people inside the jail block could say anything, what seemed like hundreds of shots filled the place at the same time. They weren’t bluffing, they intended to fight for what they wanted, and the young people inside could only duck under the windows until the others would stop for a second and give them the chance to answer.

***********

The sound of the bullets resounded all along the corridor, which made Blaine and Sebastian crouch in fear before they realized the bullets couldn’t get them there.

“Are these shots?” Sebastian asked as he imitated Blaine and got back on his feet after the initial fright.

“Yes” Blaine answered without a shadow of a doubt when a different fear –not for them, but for the others– set itself in his heart at the thought that all his friends were being attacked –Sam amongst them–. “Please! Can anybody hear us?” he yelled again at the same time that he kicked the gate, hoping the combination of noises would bring attention to them.

“If they didn’t hear us before it’s impossible that they hear us now, with all that racket” Sebastian tried to make him see, even if Blaine’s desperate gaze was breaking his heart.

“Sam!” Blaine yelled at the top of his lungs, ignoring Sebastian’s words and getting more desperate as he grabbed the bars in front of him and shook them as strongly as he could. “Sam, can you hear me?”

Sebastian sighed with sadness and fear as he rested a hand on Blaine’s shoulder again, but he didn’t try to stop him this time. After all, he would be just as desperate if the person he loved was far from him and being shot as they spoke. Because obviously Blaine had forgotten about all the pain Sam had put him through as soon as Sam had been put at risk.

**********

As soon as the people outside stopped shooting for a second to reload their guns, the youngsters inside took their chance and rested their guns and rifles on the windows sills to balance them and start shooting in their defense. Most of them were not great shooters, and the bullets were not hitting their targets –though at least they were keeping them at bay.

“This is not working!” Puck lamented as he reloaded his gun. “We’re not hitting them!”

“Neither are they hitting us!” Sam tried to make him see, not wanting for the rest of the guys to get discouraged too soon. “And as long as we are inside and they are out there, we are bound to win. Don’t forget about the walkers”

“So we just need to resist?” Sugar asked, sounding more confident than she had done until then –which made Sam see that Blaine’s training sessions had bore fruit amongst the weakest members of their group, after all. As if he had had any doubt about it.

“Exactly” Sam agreed as he turned to his window and started shooting again.

“And what if we run out of ammunition before they do?” Jake asked.

“They wouldn’t be so desperate if they had a lot of that, right?” Mike intervened, also wanting to avoid any panic spreading amongst the students. “And if there is something we have a lot of, that is ammunition”

“I hit one of them!” Puck announced triumphantly. “Come on, guys, we can do it!”

Encouraged by Puck’s success, they started shooting again, knowing how important it was to keep their position. They were getting good at stopping the people outside of making any advances, because even if they were not hitting them most of the time, they were fast and persistent enough to not give them time to leave their hidden positions and make them come any closer.

They were only distracted by a horrible scream coming from outside, a terrifying yell that made their blood run cold because they knew it couldn’t have been elicited by a bullet.

“A man was bitten by a walker” Joe explained while wincing in disgust as the image, as he had been a direct witness to the scene and it surely hadn’t been nice.

“Oh my God” Marley lamented, horrified. Of course she wanted to defeat the other guys, but just imagining –and hearing– being devoured by those monsters…

“Ouch, shit!” Mike exclaimed after a second, and when Sam turned to look at him in confusion he was appalled to discover his arm was bleeding.

“Mike!” Tina yelled as she ran to his side and started inspecting the wound.

“It’s okay, it only graced me” Mike answered, trying to calm everybody down, but he didn’t protest when Tina stripped a piece of her undershirt to wrap it around his arm and stop the bleeding. “It was my fault, I let myself be distracted. Don’t lose your concentration!”

Mike’s injury only reinforced Sam’s need to make sure Blaine was okay. He knew he was in the safest part of the block, but it was impossible that he hadn’t heard all the noise they were making, and knowing Blaine there had to be something keeping him from running to help them and put himself in charge of everyone’s safety. And Sebastian hadn’t appeared either, so it was quite obvious that something must have happened to them.

“I need to know if Blaine and Sebastian are okay” Sam whispered, so only Trent would hear him –it would be easier to convince just him to let him go than everybody else.

“Sam, don’t” Trent pleaded, grabbing Sam’s arm strongly. “It’s too dangerous, look what happened to Mike”

“I don’t care, Trent” Sam answered as he shrugged his shoulders, and then, trying to take him by surprise, he turned around and ran without any further explanation.

“Sam!” Trent screamed after him, but he could only turn to the window and start shooting without pause to cover him and make sure no stray bullet would hit him as he ran.

**********

Sam didn’t turn back to see if anyone had seen him or was following him to stop him as he ran towards the corridor that would lead him to the cell area, his heart in his throat at the many possibilities in his head for Blaine to not having reached them yet. Was he hurt? But there were no windows on that part of the prison. Maybe some part of the ceiling had fallen on them with the explosion? Sam had often thought about how insecure and in a poor condition that ceiling looked.

What he was not expecting was to find his path blocked with that stupid gate that they had kept open until then and from which they didn’t have the key.

“What the fuck…” Sam exclaimed as he tried to open it, even though he knew it was useless as it was one of those doors that locked when they closed. Maybe the gate at the other end of the corridor had closed too and that’s what was keeping the two boys away? “Blaine!” he yelled, hoping against hope that his best friend was at the other end of the corridor and would hear him, even if they couldn’t see each other. “Blaine, can you hear me?”

“Sam!” Blaine answered in what sounded almost like sob of relief –the poor guy must have been dead worried–. “Sam, you ok?”

“Yeah, yeah” he hurried to answer, not wanting for Blaine to worry more than necessary. “What about you? And Sebastian, is he with you?”

“Yes, I’m here too, we’re both fine” Sebastian answered, and Sam was relieved that both his friends seemed to be in one piece.

“We are trapped here, we can’t open this fucking door” Blaine explained, and if Sam hadn’t been so scared at their current situation, he would have laughed at how out of place it felt to hear Blaine swearing.

“The one at this end of the corridor is stuck too” Sam lamented, almost breaking down in tears at the impossibility of seeing that his lover was alright with his own eyes. “Why are they closed?”

“I don’t know, the ground kind of trembled and they closed on their own”

“I guess it was the explosion then”

“Explosion? What’s happening out there?” Blaine asked, the leader of him desperately needing to take control of the situation. “Is it that guy again?”

“Yeah” Sam was forced to admit. “As always you were right, he came back and he brought a bunch of friends with him. They blew up the interior fence”

“Is everybody alright?” Blaine asked, his voice shaking with fear at the answer he was going to get.

“Yes, everybody is… Oh, fuck!” Sam exclaimed as a bullet entered by the window at his side and impacted only mere inches from his head. He guessed he could be seen from outside, and he hurried to crouch as far down as he could so he would not be hit.

“Sam! Sam!” Blaine desperately screamed, as he had obviously heard the closer shot and Sam’s exclamation.

“I’m okay! Don’t worry, I’m okay, it didn’t hit me!” Sam hurried to explain, not wanting to hear that kind of terror on Blaine’s voice ever again.

“Don’t stay there, go and take cover” Blaine encouraged him, as always forgetting about his current situation to make sure Sam would be safe.

“What about you?” Sam asked, hating the idea of just leaving them there even if he knew there was little he could do to free them while trying to fight those guys.

“Don’t worry about us, we’re safe here, just go” Blaine answered, as obviously the only thing he wanted was to make sure Sam would be alright.

“Alright” Sam agreed, knowing there wasn’t anything else he could do, but wishing he could at least get a glimpse of the boy that meant so much to him and make him understand how important he was to him and how sorry he was about hurting him. “Blaine, I…”

“I know, Sam” Blaine answered before he even got the chance to say anything, understanding as ever –or maybe it just wasn’t the time for that–. “Just go. And be careful, please”

“I’ll come get you as soon as I can” Sam promised, his voice trembling with emotion, praying that it wouldn’t be the last time they spoke. “You just… take care of each other”

“Sam, go!” Blaine insisted, awfully worried for the blond, and at last Sam couldn’t do anything else than obey and return to the common room.

**********

When Sam returned and took his position next to Trent, he immediately noticed absolutely nothing had changed in his absence: everybody was standing next to the same window, still shooting outside, and it was almost as if time had frozen.

“Sam” Trent said in relief when he saw the blond was alright. “Don’t do that again”

“I’m sorry, Trent, I needed to know” Sam apologized, starting to shoot his own weapon next to the other boy.

“Did you find them?” Trent asked, almost fearing the answer considering Sam had come back without them.

“Yeah, they’re alright, just trapped in there by the gates on the corridor” Sam quickly reassured him, knowing how close the other boy was to Blaine and especially Sebastian. “We’ll need to get them out once we take care of everything here, but at least they’re safe for now”

“Right” Trent answered, immensely relieved that his friends were alright.

Sam continued shooting every time one of the people outside so much as moved, trying to hit any of them. Trent explained that they hadn’t hit any more of them, but two of them had been bitten by walkers and were now out of the way. But in spite of how it seemed like they were wining, something was not sitting right with Sam: a good while had passed since the first shot, and the situation hadn’t changed. At all. If their objective was to assault their prison, shouldn’t they be making advances towards their goal?

“Doesn’t anybody else find this strange?” Sam spoke, louder this time so everybody would hear him.

“What?” Santana asked, not understanding what he meant.

“They’re just shooting, they’re not trying to get any closer” Sam explained, quickly moving to the side as a bullet impacted on the still of his window.

“That’s ‘cause we are doing a great job at keeping them away” Puck answered, and Sam had to admit he had a point.

Maybe they were just doing a great job at defending what was theirs. But still…

**********

Sebastian was sure he would be able to hear Blaine’s heart if he pricked his ears hard enough, so worried the other boy seemed to be. He had convinced him to sit on the ground next to him, as there wasn’t anything they could do for the moment, but Blaine’s foot hadn’t stopped patting the floor nervously. He kept sighing and hiding his face between his raised knees every few seconds, and Sebastian knew it was killing him to know everybody –and Sam especially– were in danger and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Calm down, Blaine” Sebastian said in a comforting voice, as he reassuringly patted his knee. “No good will come out of you giving yourself a heart attack”

“We should be there fighting with them” Blaine answered as he sighed again and let his head fall back, against the damned gate.

“I know” Sebastian agreed, even though both of them knew it had not been their decision.

“We were keeping watch all night, how did we miss them?” Blaine asked, turning to look intently at his friend, searching for answers he couldn’t find himself.

“Because they didn’t blow up the part of the fence we could see form our place” Sebastian patiently answered, because he had already known that Blaine would find the way to blame their situation on himself. “There was nothing we could do”

“But it doesn’t make any sense!” Blaine protested. “Why would they blow up the fence in another section and then try and enter through the main door? They should have imagined we would be watching it”

“I don’t know, Blaine” Sebastian answered, trying to remain calm even if he could see Blaine’s reasoning made a lot of sense. “Maybe they’re just that stupid”

“They have explosives and they just blow up a damned fence? If it was me I’d… Oh my God” Blaine interrupted himself as his face paled dramatically –so much that Sebastian feared he was going to faint and hurried to grab his arms in case he needed to hold him up.

“What?” he asked, desperate for answers.

“It’s a trap!” Blaine answered, his eyes filling with fear and desperation as he implored for his friend to tell him he was wrong. “They’re just creating a diversion!”

“Blaine, stop, let’s take a moment to think…” Sebastian tried to calm him down, not wanting to believe for a second that he might be right.

“They’re going to attack some other way while they have them shooting at just some of them!” Blaine yelled desperately as he disentangled himself from Sebastian’s grip and jumped to his feet to turn to the corridor again and start shouting like a madman. “Sam! Sam!”

“They can’t possibly hear you” Sebastian implored for him to stop, hating to see his friend in such a frantic state.

“Sam!” Blaine tried again, but this time his desperation got hold of him and he started kicking and punching the bars.

“Stop it, Blaine” Sebastian begged, putting his arms around Blaine from behind to try and hold him down. “You’re going to hurt yourself!”

“Sam!” Blaine tried once again, so loud that his voice cracked in the end, even though he couldn’t care less.

“Blaine, please” Sebastian insisted, holding onto him more strongly and trying to get him away from the door, but Blaine refused to surrender and they struggled until they fell on their knees.

“We need to get out of here, we need to help them” Blaine said, finally stopping to break into sobs, regaining his senses and realizing there was nothing they could do to help the others who were about to be in serious danger.

“We can’t, Blaine” Sebastian lamented as he closed his arms more closely around Blaine and let him sob against his chest, his own eyes filling with tears at Blaine’s state and at the very dark fate of their friends.

It was only a minute later, while they were still in the same position, that the ground trembled again and small chunks of the damaged ceiling started falling on them as a bigger explosion could be heard at the other end of the corridor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to finish the chapter here, but there was still so many things to happen that it was getting to long so I divided all the action into two chapters :)


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the delay but, as some of you already now, someone gave me the evil eye this week and I've been busy with small accidents and wasting my time in the ER! But it's finally here, so enjoy! :)

The rumble of the explosion was nothing compared with the noise that one of the walls on the main entrance made when it fell on some of the students who had been perching on it on their battle. Most of them were quick enough to avoid getting hurt –Trent, Sam and Unique only got some scratches from flying debris–, though others were not so fortunate: Santana received a hard blow to the head that knocked her out for a minute and Joe completely disappeared under the rubble.

“It was a trap!” Sam announced as he ran to the fallen wall and started moving the debris to unbury Joe. “Keep shooting! Don’t let them get any closer!”

“Santana!” Brittany shouted as she ran to the other girl and gently shook her to bring her back to consciousness.

Sam and Trent worked without pause to unbury Joe, afraid for the big blow he had received and the fact he yet had to make a sound. The shots around them intensified, as Puck and the others fought more fiercely, as it was more important and difficult to keep the other shooters away from the place now that one of the walls had been brought to shambles.

“I can see his hand now” Trent announced as he intensified his efforts, and only a couple more stones and they uncovered his face.

His face and every part of his body they could see were covered in blood and even if his eyes were open, his gaze was totally void of any life. His heart breaking, Sam knew he was not going to find a pulse, though he hurried to press his fingers under Joe’s jaw hoping against hoping he would be wrong. He wasn’t.

“He’s dead” Sam announced with a strained voice as his hand gently closed Joe’s eyelids out of respect.

“You’re going to pay for this!” Puck yelled at the top of his lungs as he resumed his shooting and didn’t stop until he had to recharge his weapon.

**********

Sebastian and Blaine remained on their knees and quickly covered their heads as best they could when some chunks of the damaged ceiling fell on them after the explosion. As Sebastian had been embracing Blaine before the detonation, he protected him with his body and he bore the worst brunt when some of the debris hit him on the side of his head, making him groan before he was able to stop himself.

“Seb, you okay?” Blaine immediately asked when nothing else fell on them, drowning his need to cry and shout at what that explosion could mean for the others under the immediate worry for his friend. At least the fact that they could still hear shots meant they were still fighting.

“Ouch!” Sebastian exclaimed as he brought his hand to the side of his head and discovered some blood and quite a bit of pain, though he knew it was nothing life threatening. “Yeah, yeah, I’m alright”

“You’re bleeding” Blaine explained as he quickly got a handkerchief of his pocket and carefully pressed it to Sebastian’s wound. “Let me help you”

“It’s okay, don’t worry” Sebastian answered, but he let Blaine take care of him knowing it was a way to keep him calm and occupied.

Even as he worked on his wound, Sebastian could feel Blaine’s hands shaking, and he couldn’t even imagine what his friend was feeling at the moment. His theory had been proven right, and everything had been a trap. Now another explosion had taken place and they had no way of knowing if all the others –Sam included– were alright, or even alive. They knew not all of them had died, as shots could still be heard and it seemed they were still fighting, but that didn’t mean all of them had made it.

“Blaine, I’m okay” Sebastian said as he took the hand Blaine still had pressed on the side of his head to make him stop –and squeezed it in his in a poor attempt of comfort. “It’s just a scratch”

Blaine nodded with a devastated sigh as he sat down on the floor, not really knowing what to do: they were still trapped and in no position to help the others. Almost as if he was trying not to let any possible tears fall, he raised his head and let it rest on the wall behind him, and it was then when he got a better view of his surroundings and noticed a small hole had been made in the wall with the explosion.

“Hey, look!” he excitedly said as he jumped on his feet and pointed at his discovery for Sebastian to see. “I bet we can pass through here!”

“There is no way we can fit through that, Blaine” Sebastian answered, moving to stand by his side, more than a little afraid Blaine would try to pass through the small hole and get stuck in it.

“We can if we make it bigger” he replied as he impatiently started hitting the bricks around the hole.

It was clear he was not going to be successful that way, as nothing was moving and Blaine’s hands wouldn’t stand that kind of treatment much longer.

“Blaine, stop it, this is useless” Sebastian said as he grabbed Blaine’s wrists and tried to take them from the wall.

“Let go of me!” Blaine retorted, angrily extricating his arms from his friend’s grip. “Try and find something we can use instead of just trying to stop me!”

Sebastian could see Blaine was right, and he would be more useful if he tried to find any tool that could help them instead of just assuming they couldn’t do anything. And of course he wasn’t offended at the fact that Blaine had yelled at him –he knew what the other boy was going through, so he should have tried to be more understanding–. But he was almost afraid of letting Blaine alone, as he knew he was going to try to work with his bare hands as soon as Sebastian turned his back on him, and the last thing Sebastian wanted was for his friend to hurt himself. But knowing he really didn’t have any other option, Sebastian finally nodded at him and ran towards the cells to try and find anything that would help them make a bigger hole and find their way out of the place.

**********

Meanwhile the others were still keeping their positions, fighting their tears for their fallen friend while not being able to stop to bury him or pay him the tribute he deserved, because if they stopped they could all suffer the same fate. Santana had regained consciousness, and was sitting next to Brittany, who was back to shooting too as she protected the other girl.

“Guys, aim better!” Puck encouraged them as he was horrified to discover those men were indeed coming closer this time –and they didn’t know if they were going to come up with something else–. “We can’t just shoot randomly to keep them at bay now, you have to kill them! Otherwise they will kill us!”

Sam hated himself for not practicing his shooting all those years after his grandfather taught him the use of weapons –though how was he to know he was going to need it someday?–, because all the bullets he had wasted and he was not sure he had even hit any of their attackers. And meanwhile Joe was dead, everyone was in danger and Blaine and Sebastian were trapped, probably going out of their heads. And there was apparently nothing he could do about it.

His concentration was broken for a moment when he heard the horrible gurgling noise of a walker near. Great, as if they didn’t have enough with the shooters, now that the wall was gone they needed to worry about walkers too.

“Guys, be careful, I can hear walkers very near” Sam warned his friends, surprised he couldn’t see any of those monsters in front of him in spite of how close he could hear them.

“Sam, watch out!” Tina yelled from the other corner of the room. “Behind you!”

Sam didn’t lose a moment to turn around at Tina’s warning and he was astonished to find the source of the noise behind him, so he lifted his gun and shoot directly at its forehead. It wasn’t until the walker was killed and lying on the floor that he realized it was Joe.

“What the…?” he exclaimed, not being able to finish his sentence because of how shocked he was feeling. How the hell had Joe turned into a walker, if the cause of his death had been the falling wall? “He was not bitten!”

“Are you sure?” Kitty asked, horrified at what she had seen and what Sam had been forced to do.

“Yes, it’s impossible that he was, there was no walker here!” Sam answered, sounding angry and surprised, clearly not wanting to go into how he had killed his friend even if he was not really alive anymore. “He died because of the wall falling on him!”

“Maybe… maybe everything is contaminated by now” Mike explained with a sad sigh. “Maybe _we_ are so contaminated that we turn into one of them when we die even if it’s not them killing us”

That elicited a silence between all the youngsters as each of them got lost in their own thoughts, knowing Mike was probably right. Just when they thought things couldn’t get any worse, something like that appeared out of nothing, Sam realized. The notion of any corpse turning into a walker, whatever they way it had died, just made it all the more dangerous to be trapped in closed spaces. Like Blaine was right now with Sebastian. If something happened to one of them…

“Then we need to be extra careful” Sam answered. “Any dead body is a potential walker”

“If you kill anybody make sure to hit them on the head so they won’t revive” Puck answered coldly, though Sam knew better and knew he was just as affected by the new discovery as anybody else, but trying not to deflate in everybody’s sake.

“What are they doing?” Marley asked as she looked through a window at the back of the room at a small group of men coming their way on the quiet with something in their hands. With all the Joe debacle, they hadn’t realized there were hardly any shots anymore.

“Is that…?” Jake started to ask, but stopped himself when he realized he was looking at what was about to be the third explosion, as what those men were carrying seemed to be explosives.

“Everybody out!” Mike yelled at the top of his lungs when he also understood what was happening, not being able to believe they had fallen on their trap again. “We can’t be trapped here if the place falls down on us!”

With their hearts in their throats, everybody seemed to obey and they started leaving the place through the doors or through the holes on the wall. Everybody except for Sam, who was starting to run in the opposite direction, apparently wanting to go deeper inside the place instead of out until Puck unceremoniously grabbed the back of his shirt and made him stop.

“We need to go out now!” he yelled, shaking Sam all the way to get some reason into him.

“Blaine and Sebastian are trapped in there!” Sam replied as he tried to extricate himself from Puck’s grip, Blaine’s welfare the only thing in his mind.

“And you risking your life when there is nothing you can do to get them out isn’t going to help them!” Puck answered, yelling even louder than before. “Let’s get out of here and find the way to help them from outside!”

Sam could see Puck’s words made more sense: even if he ran to the corridor that separated them from the cells, it would be as blocked as before and there wouldn’t be anything he could do to get to Blaine as much as he wanted. Getting himself killed wasn’t going to save Blaine. If only he could at least make sure Blaine was still alright…

“Alright” Sam surrendered as he let himself be pulled by Puck towards the exit, knowing Puck was not going to leave without him and that he would be putting him at risk for no reason. But once outside, no one was going to stop him from finding the way to get Blaine out of his imprisonment, even if it was the last thing he did.

**********

Sebastian ran from one cell to the other looking for any tools that might help them, but no screwdrivers or monkey wrenches were going to help them. The only thing he could think of that could be useful was the hammer Unique had been keeping since she found it in the janitor’s closet at school, and once he found it he ran back to the last place he had seen Blaine, praying he hadn’t done anything crazy.

Of course his hopes were shattered as soon as he left the last of the cells and went back, and even from afar he could see how Blaine’s hands were bleeding from multiple cuts and scratches as he diligently worked at pulling and pushing at the bricks surrounding the hole. Sebastian could see he had made some advances, and the hole seemed a bit larger than before, but it was not enough yet and he would have to stop Blaine before he damaged his hands forever.

“Blaine, stop!” Sebastian yelled as he reached him.

“No, just a little bit more, it’s almost big enough” Blaine pleaded for Sebastian to not try to stop him this time as he continued with his task, apparently immune to the pain he had to be feeling with injuries like that.

“Your hands are bleeding” Sebastian said as he grabbed his wrists and brought them in front of him, so he could inspect how badly hurt Blaine’s hands were.

“Seb, I don’t care” Blaine answered in a broken voice, and there was so much pain and sorrow in his voice that Sebastian could only sigh in surrender as he let go of his hands.

“Ok, let me help you but carefully” Sebastian answered as he showed Blaine the hammer.

“Ok” Blaine agreed as he reluctantly moved slightly aside to let Sebastian work with the tool.

**********

Of course going outside wasn’t an ideal solution either, and as soon as they set a foot outside –with no idea where or how the others were–, Sam and Puck had to run towards the containers area to hide from the bullets coming at them. Maybe from there they would be able to shoot the men carrying the explosives before they set them off, still worried about Blaine’s and Sebastian’s situation inside the building.

“Shoot at them!” Sam desperately ordered his friend when they were safely half hidden behind the containers. “We have to stop them!”

“I’m trying” Puck answered in frustration, as the angle they were in from the men didn’t let him aim as well as he would have liked. “I can’t seem to get them from here!”

“I’m going out” Sam announced, but he was not quick enough to run before Puck could grab his arm and stop him again.

“Don’t you even think about it, you go out there and you’re a dead man” Puck said in a threatening tone. “If you’re near that when it explodes you’ll end up like Joe. Not to mention all the other guys hidden around here waiting to shoot at you”

“We have to do something!” Sam insisted.

“If you get yourself killed who’s going to get Blaine out of there?” Puck insisted, feeling guilty about how manipulative he was being, but he was willing to say anything to keep his friend out of danger.

Sam hesitated for a second, not being able to decide if Puck was right or he was just trying to convince him to let it go. It was only a second but it was enough: before he could say anything else, the third explosion took place right before their eyes and they were appalled to see half the building turning into ashes.

**********

Even though the explosion hadn’t been anywhere near them, Blaine and Sebastian ended up on the floor with the force of it, again trying to protect themselves from chunks of wall and roof falling on them with their arms over their heads. Fortunately neither one of them were hurt this time and they were relieved and delighted to see the hole had been made bigger.

“We can fit through here!” Blaine excitedly yelled, smiling for the first time in what felt like forever as he jumped on his feet.

“Probably” Sebastian agreed, smiling himself, as he followed his friend a bit more slowly.

“Help me up” Blaine pleaded to his friend, as the hole was a bit too high in the wall for him to reach it comfortably.

Sebastian didn’t lose a second and entwined his own hands so Blaine could put his foot onto them and he would be able to lift him. Fortunately Blaine wasn’t too heavy and was very agile, so Sebastian only needed to give a small push up to get Blaine to grab onto the hole and get himself through it.

Blaine remained perched on the hole so he could help Sebastian from it, and he grabbed his hand and pulled at the same time Sebastian jumped so he was able to reach the edge of the hole on the wall too. And for Sebastian to have enough room to go through the hole, Blaine needed to jump to the other side, and so he did. But he was so focused in getting out of there as soon as possible that he forgot to be cautious, and as soon as his feet touched the ground a walker lurking around jumped on him and made him fall to the floor.

“Careful!” Sebastian yelled as he took the matter into his own hands after he also jumped to the floor and shot directly at the walker’s head, making its movements cease in an instant.

“Shit” was the only thing Blaine could exclaim when he was able to regain the ability to talk after the fright.

“You okay?” Sebastian quickly asked while offering him a hand to help him stand.

“Gosh, I’d totally forgotten about walkers” Blaine answered with an embarrassed blush as he let himself be helped on his feel.

“Well, don’t forget again, you idiot” Sebastian angrily replied, and Blaine smiled in spite of himself as he realized Sebastian was not as angry as he was scared.

“Sorry” Blaine apologized to his friend for causing him any worry. “And now let’s go and see where the others are” or in what condition, he added to himself.

**********

Sam and Puck were relieved than any of their friends –that they could see– were close enough to be injured with the explosion, though they knew the place was completely ruined for them even if they managed to survive. And all of that just for some supplies? Those guys must thought they were storing a lot of things. Well, they were going to be disappointed.

“There is nothing we can do to save the place anymore” Sam lamented. “The only thing left for us to do is get Blaine and Sebastian out of there and run away, and hope we can find the others”

“I can’t see the shooters, but there are still bullets flying by” Puck commented, surprised those men were nowhere to be seen.

“They must be hiding somewhere” Sam answered as he looked around, but his eyes only found Tina some yards away from them instead, apparently looking for some place to hide or simply trying to escape.

Sam was about to call her so she would join them, as the girl looked really scared and it was always better to stay together, but before he could even open his mouth, another shot was heard and Tina collapsed face first, unmoving.

“No!” Sam said, trying hard not to shout so they wouldn’t be discovered either, even if he could hardly believe he had just seen one of his best friends being killed in front of him. ”Fuck, Tina! Fuck! Fuck!” he exclaimed, hitting the wall with the palm of his hands as a way to try to deal with his pain before he made an attempt to run to her.

“Sam, stop!” Puck said, grabbing Sam’s forearms to shake him out of his shock, as they didn’t have the time for that –and he was afraid Sam would leave their hidden place and end up killed too. “She was shot in the head, you can’t do anything for her now”

Only the tears in Puck’s eyes were able to make Sam understand the gravity of the situation and how he was not the only one suffering, so he made an effort to calm himself down and accept that, just as Joe, Tina was gone now. At least she wouldn’t be turning into a walker, as she had been shot in the head, he said to himself for comfort.

“Oh my God, when Mike finds out…” Sam lamented, his mind inevitably going to how he would feel if he lost Blaine and making his heart physically ache with just the thought of it.

“We’ll take care of him” Puck assured him, in a rush to start making a plan about what to do from then on. “But we can’t think about that now: there is a shooter up there” Puck explained while pointing at the little terrace on top of the building, finally understanding where those shots were coming from. “We won’t be able to get anything done until we get rid of him, or else he’ll end up killing us all from his position”

“You think we should go up that terrace?”

“I think it’s the only thing left for us to do”

“Ok, let’s do it”

**********

Meanwhile Sebastian and Blaine were running towards the other area of the block they had just left –making sure to keep themselves protected from the bullets still flying around them, even if they had diminished their intensity–, and were horrified to discover a part of it had been turned into rubble. Which meant they had lost the first place they had kind of considered a home since the whole thing started. And they hoped it didn’t mean they had lost much more than that.

“Is that…?” Blaine started to ask from his place outside as they saw Joe’s body lying forgotten inside the building, but he couldn’t bring himself to finish his question.

“Yeah” Sebastian answered sadly, silently mourning the loss of yet another friend, but he hadn’t had the time to dwell on the feeling before Blaine went crazy and started running towards the place with the intention of going inside.

“Sam!” he desperately yelled, his heart forgetting to beat at the chance that Joe wasn’t the only corpse in the place.

“No, Blaine, wait!” Sebastian said as he caught with him and stopped him with his a ferocious grip on his upper arms. “Those guys half blew the place up for a reason, they are probably inside by now!”

“But the others…” Blaine tried to protest as he tried to rid himself from Sebastian’s grip, to no avail.

“The others must have run away… Otherwise there would be more corpses, can’t you see it?” Sebastian tried to convince his friend while still holding onto him, terrified of what his fate would be if he let go of him.

“And what if they didn’t? What if they are inside, with those criminals?” Blaine pleaded for Sebastian to understand his worry.

“They’re not” Sebastian unsurprisingly replied, looking intently at the shorter boy. “We need to look for them and save ourselves. Let’s not get ourselves killed for nothing”

Blaine nodded, even if he wasn’t entirely convinced.

**********

Sam and Puck went up the stairs leading them to the terrace above the half destroyed block in total silence, knowing how important it was to catch the shooter unaware. They hadn’t talked about it, but both of them knew they would probably have to kill him, as taking him as a prisoner didn’t make any sense nor they could take the time to watch him. And even if they knew they didn’t have any other option, and that bastard had killed Tina just in front of them, they knew it wasn’t going to be easy to take his life like that.

Opening the door as quietly as they could manage, they both went outside and immediately saw the man they were looking for at the other end of the terrace, lying on his stomach to shoot at ground’s level as the protective wall had been destroyed with the explosion. It seemed like he hadn’t heard them, and Puck nodded at Sam before lifting his weapon to point it at the man, trying not to think he was killing a human from behind.

But before he could even think about squeezing the trigger, another gun made contact with his temple as another man they hadn’t noticed behind the door appeared and pointed their gun at them.

“Leave your guns on the floor right now or your little Chinese friend won’t be the last to die” the man said, and the boys could only obey.

**********

Blaine and Sebastian were slowly making their way around the place, always making sure to stay hidden away from any possible shooter, even though it had been a long time since they had seen any of them –as by then, as Sebastian had said, they were probably inside the place, looking for any supplies they could carry–, when they practically stumbled over Trent, who was carefully hiding in a corner behind some bushes. He looked pale and he was holding his ankle with his hands, so they immediately supposed he was hurt.

“Trent!” Sebastian said as he kneeled at his side. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, don’t worry” Trent immediately tried to reassure the two worried boys. “I just sprained my ankle, I think”

“Where are the others?” Blaine asked, trying not to sound too impatient.

“They are scattered around, it was too dangerous to stay inside” Trent answered, understanding Blaine’s worries immediately.

“Can you move?” Sebastian asked.

“I don’t know” Trent honestly answered, but before he could even try Blaine insisted again.

“Do you know where Sam is?” Blaine asked, not even trying to pretend Sam was the one he was the most worried about.

“I saw him going up to the terrace upstairs with Puck, there is a shooter there and I guess they wanted to finish him off, but…”

“But what?” Blaine asked, willing Trent to say what he had to say.

“It was some time ago, and… the shooter is still doing his job up there” Trent admitted, his heart breaking at having to be the one to give Blaine news like that.

Blaine’s emotions were perfectly readable at his face: at first, there was only desolation. But it soon was replaced by hope, and when his gaze started to show the determination that was so typical of him, Sebastian rushed to hold him down by grabbing his shoulders.

“Don’t you even think about it” Sebastian said in a threatening voice.

“I need to make sure” Blaine answered, and when Sebastian saw he was not even trying to convince him, but just affirming it, he knew there was no way he was going to stop him.

“It’s suicide to go up there alone, I won’t let you” Sebastian tried anyway, hoping Blaine would listen to him for once, but it was not his lucky day.

“I’m sorry, Seb, but there is no way you can’t stop me” Blaine answered before standing up and running in a rush, before Sebastian could even react. “Stay with Trent!”

“Blaine, wait!” Sebastian yelled at his back as he fought the urge to follow him and push him to the floor until all danger was over. But he knew he couldn’t leave Trent alone, not when he was injured, so in the end he could only watch as Blaine disappeared from his side. “Damn you, you fool” he whispered to himself as a very bad feeling settled in his chest without him being able to stop it.

**********

Blaine ran as quickly as he could manage even if he wasn’t sure his heart was still beating at the possibility that something had happened to Sam. He didn’t even think about the possible robbers wandering around the place as he reached the stairs, desperate as he was to get to what was left of the terrace as soon as possible. Twice he came across a couple of walkers who had also made their way inside, but he was experienced enough for them not to be a real threat and he managed to avoid them so he wouldn’t lose any time.

As he went up the narrow stairs taking him to the terrace, he could hear some of those walkers following him up, but fortunately they were much slower than he was. He thought maybe he should confront them and get rid of them, but he didn’t have the time to stop. So in the end he decided that he would take care of them later, if it came to that, once he was sure Sam was alright.

As he had no idea of what he was going to find, he opened the door slowly, his weapon in front of him ready to be fired in case of need. And he thought his heart was going to come out of his chest when he saw Sam and Puck were alive, but being directly pointed at with a rifle but one of those men, so he remained hidden behind the door to see what was really happening.

“Just make it easier on yourself and tell us where you are storing everything” the man yelled at them.

“Go to hell, you’re going to kill us anyway” Puck cockily answered, and Blaine almost admired him for not losing his stance even in a time like this.

“Yes, but I promise to make it quick” the man answered.

And that’s when Blaine knew enough was enough. He felt nauseous just at the thought of killing a man like that, but he could see there was another one on the other side of the terrace, still aiming downstairs, so if he tried to threaten the first man to lower his gun, the second one would turn to them and Sam’s life –along with Puck and his own– would be at risk. Plus he very well knew it was either them or those men, and making prisoners didn’t make any sense.

The decision was made for him, though, when the man started getting impatient, seeing Sam and Puck were not going to collaborate, and raised his gun to Sam’s face. Before he could even think about what he was doing, Blaine quickly aimed his gun at the man and shot, killing him in an instant.

Everybody stayed rooted to the place from shock for a second: Sam and Puck astonished at the fact they were alive and the man about to kill them was not, and the fact that Blaine had appeared out of nothing when he was supposed to be trapped inside the building. And Blaine stood petrified at the thought of just having killed a man.

Too shocked to react, Blaine fought against the urge to vomit at what he had just done, and Sam’s heart broke at the image and about how bad he knew Blaine was feeling at the moment because of his big heart. He was going to go to him and try to comfort him when he remembered about the guy at the other end of the terrace and turned to look at him to discover horrified he had turned around and was now aiming his gun at Blaine.

Without a second thought, Sam took the gun from the dead man’s hands and as quickly as he could manage he shot at the man in the distance. He didn’t die instantly, and he still had time to fire one last time, though thanks to his injury the shot was clearly deflected.

At the same time, while Blaine had been standing immobile next to the door, Puck saw how the walkers that had been following him were about to reach him.

“Blaine, watch out!” Puck yelled as he shot at the walker closest to his friend, and even if he hit it, he was not quick enough to keep the monster from getting to Blaine.

Even with the ruckus of all the shooting around them, Sam could still hear a little grunt of pain escaping from Blaine’s lips as the walker finally got to him and made him fall from the edge of the terrace with the force of the impact. The last glimpse Sam caught out of his lover was that of his chest getting covered with blood. And then, just like that, he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So do you hate me yet? :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that one came out sooner than expected! Enjoy! :)

Sam felt as if a giant fist was squeezing his heart as he saw Blaine disappear off the edge of the building, injured and covered with blood and… bitten. The walker had gotten him and bitten him on the shoulder, judging by the blood falling down his chest before he fell. But Puck had killed that monster just after that, so if Blaine had survived the fall, that meant he could still be alive. Even if he was doomed… Sam was not going to let him die alone.

“Blaine!” Sam yelled as he tried to run towards him, but Puck anticipated his moves and stopped him before he could move.

“You can’t help him now, we need to get out of here!” Puck urged him, as more and more walkers were making their way upstairs and it wouldn’t be too long before they were surrounded.

“I have to get to him!” Sam immediately protested him, fighting against Puck’s grip with all his forces.

“Sam, I’m not losing you for nothing! Blaine is gone, there is nothing you can do for him” Puck yelled at him, strongly shaking him to make him react, and only when Sam noticed the tears falling unnoticed on Puck’s cheeks he started crying himself, even if he resisted himself to believe there was nothing he could do about the person he loved.

“I can’t leave him there, Puck” Sam pleaded for his friend to understand, stopping his struggles to free himself, opting for convincing him instead. Because yeah, maybe there was nothing he could do to save Blaine after all, but… he couldn’t leave him like that.

“Sam, he… will be one of them in no time. I don’t want you to see it” Puck answered with a sob, and Sam understood he was only trying to protect him –and not just from the walkers.

“I need to make sure, Puck” Sam answered in a thin voice, trying very hard to keep his emotions at bay. “I can’t just leave him there like that. He saved our lives”

Puck sighed in resignation, perfectly understanding Sam’s need even if he didn’t want to understand, and he let go of him to run towards the edge where Blaine had fallen from, following him a little more slowly as he raised his gun to protect both of them from any possible walkers getting too close.

The vision Sam got when he let himself fall on his stomach next to the edge to look down was one he was sure he was never going to forget: Blaine was lying on his side on the ground, eyes closed and skin too pale, as the walker lied only a couple of feet away from him, dead. His chest was covered with the blood falling from a wound on his shoulder Sam couldn’t see because of his sweater, where the walker had bitten into him, and there was a puddle of blood forming around him already. At least it didn’t seem like the fall had injured him further, as the trail of blood he had left on the containers beside him showed Sam they had probably cushioned the fall before he ended up on the floor. Where he was lying unmoving right now, with no signs of life from what Sam could see.

Sam covered his own mouth to keep himself from screaming, as an unstoppable flow of tears found its way down his cheeks even if his head kept shaking in negation. He couldn’t accept it, it was not possible that he had just lost Blaine like that. It was not possible that Blaine had died saving his life after everything Sam had done to him in the last few days.

“Come on, Sam” Puck’s devastated voice sounded near, and it wasn’t until his hand was comfortingly gripping his shoulder that Sam realized his friend was laying next to him. “We need to get going”

But as hard as he tried, Sam couldn’t move. He couldn’t manage to move his legs to stand up nor was he able to move his gaze from Blaine’s unmoving form. But wait, he was not unmoving! It was so weak, but his foot had moved, right?

“He moved!” Sam yelled, jumping on his knees in just on move. “Puck, did you see it? He moved! He is alive!”

“He might… have turned into… a walker already” Puck answered, feeling like the worst person ever for crushing his friend’s hopes like that, but he knew he had to be the reasonable one for once.

“No, he would be on his feet already if that was the case or… doing that horrible noise they do” Sam contradicted him, furiously drying the tears on his cheeks as if ashamed he had fallen into despair when it was obvious there was still hope. “He’s alive and hurt, Puck, I’m not leaving him there alone”

“He was still bitten, Sam” Puck insisted in a calm and patient voice, almost afraid of Sam’s reaction but needing for him to understand. “He is sentenced anyway”

“I’m not leaving him there to die alone and devoured by those monsters, Puck” Sam answered, not even trying to convince Puck anymore because he was resolute about what he needed to do and didn’t care about anybody else’s opinion. “He doesn’t deserve an end like that”

Puck, only worried about his friend, was about to protest when they noticed three or four walkers on the ground level starting to come closer to Blaine’s body –one more proof that he was alive, as those monsters were very keen on eating him–. Knowing there was no more time to lose, Sam didn’t hesitate anymore and sat on the edge of the building.

“Cover me!” he yelled as he didn’t leave Puck any time to react before he jumped on the containers bellow and then jumped the rest of the way to the ground, where Blaine lay.

Sam heard some shots that indicated that Puck was already firing at the walkers getting dangerously close to them, but he couldn’t focus his attention on anything that wasn’t Blaine once he came to stand next to him. From a closer range it was more obvious than Blaine was alive, as his whole body was shaking with pain and his breathing was hard and labored. There was a layer of perspiration on his face already and his cheeks were flushed even above his pale skin. But he still looked as beautiful and perfect as ever to Sam’s eyes, which quickly filled with tears again at the sight of his lover’s suffering.

“Blaine” Sam whispered almost to himself as he knelt next to his friend, but as soon as he laid a hand on Blaine’s chest, the latter, who still had a hint of consciousness on him, got frightened and started thrashing weakly to defend himself.

“Mmm” Blaine moaned, trying to fight whatever foe was trying to reach him in his pain-filled and confused mind, his survival instinct stronger than ever even if he could barely hold his hands up.

“It’s me, love, it’s just me” Sam whispered as he took a moment to run his fingers through the curls on Blaine’s forehead, in a gesture so common to them, to calm him down, and the blond couldn’t stop a sob when Blaine immediately stopped struggling, implicitly trusting him in spite of everything. “I’m going to get you out of here, okay?”

Of course Blaine didn’t answer, but his face turned slightly towards Sam’s hand, seeking a contact he so desperately needed. Unable to deny him anything, Sam cupped his cheek and bended over to kiss Blaine’s forehead.

“I need you to help me, though, can you hold onto me?” Sam asked, softly and calmly so as not to scare the other boy any further, even if their situation was desperate and only Puck’s aim was keeping them out of trouble.

Again Sam couldn’t elicit a response from the injured boy, so very carefully he put his hand under Blaine’s back and made him sit up even if he had to hold him up. He then took Blaine’s arms and awkwardly put them around his own neck, and he thought he was going to cry with relief when he noticed Blaine somewhat closing them more strongly around it so he was holding onto him on his own accord, trusting him and using the last ounce of his strength to do what Sam had asked –and Sam thought he had no idea what he had done to deserve being loved by someone as perfect as Blaine–, incapable of denying him anything even in a situation like that.

“That’s right, babe, you’re doing so great” Sam shakily praised him as he got his other arm under Blaine’s knees and finally stood up with Blaine in his arms, relieved at the knowledge that Blaine was still alive by the tight grip he was keeping around his neck, even if his head had fallen on his shoulder. “Hang on, alright? For me”

Sam’s heart skipped a beat when he heard a thud behind him and immediately held Blaine closer to him to protect him, but he was immensely relieved to discover it was only Puck, who had also jumped his way down to them after finishing off the few walkers threatening their safety.

“How is he?” Puck asked, gravely looking at the semiconscious boy lying on Sam’s arms with no trace of hope in his eyes.

“Hanging on” Sam answered with evident pride in his voice for his friend’s strength.

“I saw those bastards leaving with everything they could carry from up there, at least some of them” Puck explained, following Sam as the latter started walking to get Blaine inside.

“Then we can go back inside” Sam answered gravely. “I don’t want Blaine out here in the cold longer than necessary”

“Sam, we’re not sure there will be no more of them inside, and Blaine is not…” Puck tried to make his friend understand nothing he did was going to change his fate, but the blond boy rudely cut him off.

“I don’t want hear it” Sam interrupted him in an angry tone as he increased the speed of his walking. “You can come with us or stay here, that’s up to you”

Of course Puck didn’t think there was a decision to make, as he couldn’t let Sam go inside alone, especially considering his hands were occupied with the precious burden he was carrying. He didn’t think there was anything they could do for Blaine –they all knew what a bite meant–, but he also knew Sam was not going to accept it so easily. He had been upset enough when it was Tina, so just to think about losing Blaine… He needed to be there for him because he really was going to need a friend when the time came.

On their way to the block’s door they met with Sebastian, who was just helping Trent to his feet once they had also realized that those men were not a threat anymore –though walkers still were, and they needed to hide–. The drastic change on Sebastian’s and Trent’s mildly happy expressions at having survived when they saw Blaine’s bloody figure being carried in Sam’s arms would have been comical if not for the drama of the situation.

“Blaine!” Sebastian yelled as he let go of Trent for a second to go see for himself that Blaine was still alive, but Sam was already gone before he could reach him so he quickly turned to Puck. “What happened to him?”

“He was bitten” Puck answered gravely –after all, he knew Sebastian was also pretty close to the petite boy– as he ran behind the other two, covering them.

“No” Sebastian exclaimed as tears instantly started forming in his eyes and he almost didn’t acknowledge Trent’s hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Seb” Trent said, even if his own heart was breaking at the reality of losing a dear friend like Blaine.

“I shouldn’t have let him go alone” Sebastian lamented as he let himself fall on his knees, devastated at the idea of never hearing Blaine’s dorky contagious laughter again.

“No, Seb” Trent immediately contradicted him, squeezing his shoulder more strongly in a poor attempt of comfort. “You know as well as I do that nothing or no one would have been able to stop him. He was a stubborn little guy”

“ _Is_ , Trent” Sebastian corrected him with a new found determination on his voice as he stood to follow the others. “He’s still alive”

“You’re right” Trent reluctantly agreed, not having the heart to remind his friend that Blaine wouldn’t be alive for much longer. “Let’s go with them”

**********

Sam would have liked to take Blaine to their sacred little cell where they have lived so much together, the only home they had known since the whole apocalypse started –if he had to die, at least Sam would have liked for him to do it in a place that had meant so much to them–, but due to the locked doors at the corridor that was not even an option. So his thought turned to the common room instead, so he could comfortably lay Blaine down on the small couch there.

When he entered the building through the entrance area that was practically reduced to ashes, Sam couldn’t help a small sob escaping from his throat at the sight: everything was destroyed, there were some walkers wandering around the place –that first Puck and the Sebastian rushed to make disappear– and Joe’s body was still laying there, with the bullet hole on his forehead that Sam had made himself. Breathing deeply a couple of times to stop the nausea, he decided to ignore everything that wasn’t the still warm body on his hands and rushed to the common room.

It was obvious those men had been there too by the way that everything seemed to be out of place, as if they had been searching for something, but at least it wasn’t so disturbing to look at. At least all the walls in it were still standing and there were no corpses in it. Without a second thought, he crossed the room and carefully let Blaine’s body to lie on the couch.

“You can let go now, babe” Sam sweetly said as he gently disentangled Blaine’s arms from his neck and got him as comfortable as he could manage while kneeling at his side, trying not to think about how he was missing the contact already.

Puck’s presence behind him surprised Sam when the older boy rested his hand on his shoulder.

“I can… do it for you, you know” Puck offered in spite of his own pain, not wanting to put into words what they both knew needed to be done.

“No, I will do it” Sam serenely answered, his eyes never leaving Blaine’s face while his hand moved to Blaine’s soft curls again on its own accord.

“Sam…” Puck tried again, wanting to spare Sam from the horror of having to kill someone so dear to him.

“Leave us alone, please” Sam begged in the same unemotional voice from before, his hand never stopping the comforting motion on the top of Blaine’s head.

“But Sam, you know we need…” Puck insisted.

“Puck, for God’s sake, just give me a minute with him!” Sam yelled in rage, turning to look at Puck for a second to reinforce his words with a furious glance before turning to the injured boy again.

“Alright” Puck finally relented, not offended at all by Sam’s sudden outburst. “I’ll be right at the door, making sure no walkers get here” he said with a last squeeze to Sam’s shoulder, but before he went he left one of his weapons on the couch next to Blaine’s feet. “I’ll leave this here for… you know”

Sam waited until Puck was out of the room to start talking. There were so many things he needed to say to his lover before he… while he was still alive. He didn’t know if Blaine could even hear him, and he positively knew it was too late for him to tell him some of those things, but… he still needed to talk.

“B?” he whispered, bending down so his voice could reach Blaine’s ear better. “Can you hear me?”

Blaine didn’t show any response to Sam’s voice, and if it wasn’t for his labored breathing, Sam would have feared he was already gone. But he wasn’t yet, and Sam needed to open his heart to him even if he wasn’t sure he was going to hear him.

Wanting to hold Blaine’s hand in his, he went for it and noticed how it was bloody and full of little cuts and scratches, just like the other one was too. He took one of Blaine’s wrist instead and examined it carefully, trying to guess how Blaine had injured his hands like that.

“What happened to your hands, B?” he asked, not waiting for an answer before he continued talking. “Knowing you, I wouldn’t be surprised if you had just dug your way out of that place with your own hands. You did, didn’t you?”

Sam turned around and looked around the place for a second, trying to find something to take care of Blaine’s hands. He knew it was ridiculous, given as Blaine would… But anyway, it felt like the last thing he could do for him, and it would make him feel better.

In the end he only managed to find some cloth and a practically empty water bottle in the kitchen, but that would do. He immediately came back to Blaine’s side and took one of his hands in his to throw some water on the wounds, to proceed to very gently clean it with the cloth.

“I wish you weren’t so stubborn and you hadn’t found your way out of there” Sam said in a soft voice as he worked. “Not that I want to sound ungrateful, because you saved my life but… I wish you hadn’t had to pay such a high price for that”

Sam’s words were suddenly interrupted by a scream coming from outside the room, and his heart broke when he noticed it was Mike, crying in agony and desperation. Sam guessed the others had also seen the shooters going away and were making their way back to the block –at least the ones that were still alive–, and someone, probably Puck, had informed Mike of Tina’s death.

His heart going out for his friend, though deeply relating to his pain because of his own situation, Sam broke down in sobs as he stopped pretending he was helping Blaine with his hands and gently put his arm under him so he could lift him slightly and hold him to his chest, wanting to remember how it was to have Blaine’s warm body in his arms while he still could, not caring about how he was getting covered with Blaine’s blood himself.

“I’m so sorry, Blaine” he sobbed while he devotedly caressed the curls falling on the back of Blaine’s neck as he held his head to his own shoulder. “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t pushed you away from my side we would have been together as always and none of this would have happened. Please, forgive me”

Sam would have given anything to be sure that Blaine was hearing him, that he was understanding what he was being said, and that he forgave Sam for everything he had put him through. But come on, this was Blaine, of course he would forgive him. He had the biggest heart ever and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for Sam, the latter very well knew that. And that was exactly what had taken them to their situation they were now.

“I know I don’t have the right to ask you anything after what I did to you, but please, can you maybe do a miracle and… stay with me?” Sam continued, hardly able to speak because of the sobs shaking his whole body at the mere idea of losing Blaine forever and having to go on without him. “I can’t lose you, B. I love you” he finally admitted, hating himself for waiting to do until it was too late for Blaine to hear it.

A few more minutes passed before Sam was able to control his sobs, in which he never let go of the smaller boy lying unconscious in his arms. Sam knew what he had to do: he would never let Blaine turn into a walker. He would do anything to keep Blaine from being one of those monsters, as he knew Blaine would want. Including putting a bullet in his brain, as Puck had hinted when he left that gun next to Blaine’s feet. It would be the hardest thing he had ever done, but he was not going to delegate that task into someone else: Blaine had done everything for him, and he was going to do that for him.

Almost unable to see clearly through his tears, Sam finally let go of the boy he loved and left him to rest on the sofa again to pick the gun into his hands. He took a moment to look into Blaine’s face, so peaceful that it almost seemed as if he was just sleeping. And so beautiful… Sam drove one of his bloodied hands to cup Blaine’s cheek and bended over to press his lips on the latter’s forehead in a long kiss.

“Goodbye, love” Sam said against Blaine’s skin before he sighed as deeply as he could and straightened up to do what he had to do.

He took the gun more firmly in his hands and carefully aimed it at Blaine’s forehead, willing himself to pull the trigger as quickly as possible and finish both their suffering as soon as possible. But before he could bring himself to do it, something caught his attention and he threw the gun to the floor, as if it suddenly burned, while his hands moved to Blaine’s sweater. If that walker had bitten him, how the hell was the sweater practically intact? Why did it only have the smallest hole instead of being ripped into pieces?

His hands trembling with anticipation, Sam moved the piece of clothing to the side, so he could see Blaine’s wound for the first time. But it wasn’t there. His shoulder should be a mess with a bite big enough to make him bleed like that, right? What the hell was happening?

Careful so as not to inflict any kind of pain on his lover, Sam moved the sweater even further to the side and it was then when he saw it: a small but angry looking hole on the far side of his shoulder, still bleeding profusely. A bullet wound.

“Blaine…” he whispered as he once again cupped Blaine’s cheek in his hand and joined their foreheads together for a second as he tried to control his emotions.

Blaine had not been bitten. He was not doomed.

“He was not bitten!” Sam yelled at the top of his lungs as he let go of Blaine and ran to the door, needing for everyone to know the boy he loved was not going to turn into a walker. “He’s not going to be one of them, you hear me? He’s unconscious because he was shot!”

He didn’t wait to see the impact his words had on all the others as he turned around and ran to Blaine’s side again, but he could hear their exclamations of surprise and joy, as well as their footsteps as they also made their way to them.

“He’s in a very critic condition” Mike said as he knelt at Sam’s side to check on the injured boy. “We need to hurry if we want to save him”

Sam looked at his friend in astonishment, marveled at his strength of character: he hadn’t even taken the time to dry the tears still on his cheeks after losing the girl he had loved for years and he was already focusing on saving Blaine’s life. Of course Sam was grateful for him, because Mike was the only one of them with the slightest notion at medicine, but still…

“Mike…” Sam started, wanting to tell him thank you, to ask him for his forgiveness that he hadn’t been able to help Tina, to tell him that he would understand if he needed a moment for himself. But Mike didn’t want to hear any of that.

“Let’s just focus on saving Blaine now, okay?” Mike answered, letting Sam know he understood everything he wanted to say, before he turned around to all the others gathered around them. “I need all the medical supplies you can find: bandages, water, alcohol to clean the wound… anything”

“They took everything” Artie answered with a desolated sigh.

“Not everything” Sam intervened, thinking about his backpack full of bandages lying on his bed, back in his cell. “Seb, how did you and Blaine get out of the cells area?”

“We climbed through a hole that broke on the wall with the explosions” Sebastian explained, also erasing the tears from his cheeks at the possibility of not losing his best friend just yet.

“Do you think you could climb back in?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, if they help me” Sebastian answered with no hesitation, as no stupid wall was going to keep him from doing whatever he could to save his friend’s life.

“We’ll help you” Jake immediately intervened, and Puck nodded vigorously at his side.

“There is a backpack in my cell with a whole lot of bandages in it” Sam explained, before he suddenly remembered about something else that could turn very useful in the absence of alcohol. “And there is also a half-full bottle of vodka behind Blaine’s bed that we can use to clean the wound, right?”

“Right” Mike answered in relief. “Go get all that as fast as you can, guys, we don’t have a lot of time”

The three boys didn’t need to be told twice as they ran outside to climb through the hole Blaine and Sebastian had used previously to escape their imprisonment, Unique and Marley going after them just in case they could use some help.

Meanwhile someone produced some scissors that Mike used to cut Blaine’s sweater open, as simply getting it off him would imply too much movement of his shoulder and they didn’t want to risk a greater bleeding, now that it was finally starting to decrease.

“Sam, lift him up for a moment” Mike ordered him in a gentle voice while moving to Blaine’s back so he could take a look.

Sam didn’t know what Mike was looking for, but he trusted him a hundred per cent, so very carefully he put his arm under Blaine’s upper body and sat him up, so Mike could take a look at whatever he was looking for.

“Finally some good luck” Mike said after a minute with the smallest smile in his face.

“What?” Sam asked with curiosity as he let Blaine’s weight rest against his chest, glad for the warmth and security it provided.

“See this hole on the back of his shoulder?” Mike said, pointing at another wound Sam hadn’t seen until that moment. “That’s an exit wound. That means the bullet went right through him. At least we won’t have to get it out of him, that would have been very tricky”

Sam released a shaky sigh before he could stop himself. That sounded like good news indeed, even if he hadn’t thought to check until then. He held Blaine more strongly to him as Mike pressed some cloth to the back of Blaine’s shoulder, to stop the bleeding there. If Blaine made it after such a trauma, he surely was going to be very weak for a while, after losing so much blood. But that was okay, Sam would be his strength while he needed it.

“What happened to his hands?” Trent asked from his chair, where Sebastian had left him after accompanying him there because of his injured ankle.

“I don’t know” Sam answered with a shrug of his shoulders as he loosely picked one of Blaine’s hands in his, careful not to hurt it. “But I already took care of them”

“I bet he hurt them doing something anybody else would have considered impossible” Sugar commented with a fondness in her voice to which Sam could only smile in agreement.

It was not much later when Sebastian ran back into the room, followed by the others, with Sam’s backpack, the vodka, sheets, clothes and everything he had thought could turn useful. He carefully left it all next to the couch and waited impatiently for Mike to start doing whatever was needed.

“Please, guys, I would appreciate it if you left us alone for a while” Mike seriously suggested, turning around to look at all the youngsters surrounding them. “I will work better without an audience, and Blaine deserves some privacy”

“But you might need…” Sebastian tried to protest, not ready to lose sight of his friend just yet.

“Sam will help me” Mike interrupted him before he could finish, cutting any possible arguments from anyone –except for Sam, who he knew it would be literally impossible to send away so he didn’t even try.

Everybody reluctantly obeyed –even Sebastian, who fondly patted Blaine’s calf before moving away from him–, knowing Mike’s request made sense, and tried to find something useful to do: some of them kept watch on the common’s room door, wanting to keep the people inside safe from any possible walkers; others went back to the hole on the wall so they could get inside the cells and gather all their belongings, as they were obviously not going to stay there once Blaine was taken care of. And others decided to start digging a couple of graves, as it was the only thing they could do for the late Joe and Tina.

Sam looked at Mike getting everything ready with apprehension, afraid of how painful the procedures were going to be for his beloved friend. He would gladly exchange places with him –both so Blaine wouldn’t have to feel so much pain and as a punishment for how terribly he had been to him–, but as that was not possible, the only thing left for him was to be there for him. And he was not going to move an inch away from him until he was 100% alright, however long it took.

“Sam, why don’t you hold him?” Mike requested when he noticed Sam’s intent gaze on his hands, which were now holding the vodka bottle. “We need to clean his wound with alcohol and it’s going to hurt like the devil”

Sam only nodded in agreement, even if his heart was breaking at the thought of holding Blaine down as even more pain was inflicted on him. But he knew it was the only thing they could do, so very carefully he lifted Blaine’s upper body again and this time he sat on the sofa behind him so he could hold him strongly to his chest, and maybe offer some kind of comfort at the same time.

“B, we’re going to clean your wound now” he explained even if he didn’t know if Blaine could hear him in his state. “It’s going to hurt, but I’m here, ok? I’ll be holding you and it will be over before you know”

“Ready?” Mike asked, holding the bottle just inches away from Blaine’s front and most dangerous wound.

“No” Sam answered in complete honesty, shaking as he was with anticipation. “But go ahead”

Mike didn’t need to be told twice and before any of them could lose the resolve to do it, he poured a generous amount of the liquor on the wound on Blaine’s shoulder, hoping it would be enough to keep infection at bay. As soon as the liquid touched his skin, Blaine tried to jump from his position, throwing an agonizing scream that directly resounded on Sam’s heart, who just held onto him more strongly, trying to keep him from injuring himself even further.

“Schhhh, easy, babe” Sam whispered in his ear as he held Blaine’s head to his own shoulder, trying for his voice to make its way past the pain and register in Blaine’s brain to calm him down and let him know he was not alone. “I’m here, I’ve got you. Just a little bit more”

They needed to repeat the procedure with the wound on his back, and Sam managed to turn him around enough so Mike would have access to it, even if the shorter boy was thrashing with pain and moaning so pitifully that it brought tears to Sam’s eyes.

Mike was quick again, and Blaine shouted again, though not as loud this time because of the decrease of his strength. There were tears in his eyes as he let his face hide in the crook of Sam’s neck, and only the ferocious grip Sam was keeping on him –for comforting reasons now that he was not fighting anymore– was keeping him from falling back to the couch.

“That’s it, sweetheart” Sam whispered as he kissed Blaine’s temple and let his hand get lost in the mess of curls that was the back of his head. “You did great, I’m so proud of you”

Mike pretended not to see or hear Sam’s demonstrations of affection for the smaller boy, feeling like an intruder in such an intimate moment. He had always thought that their relationship was very special, and much closer than what was considered normal for two best friends, but he had not understood the depth of it until now: it was very obvious Sam felt something very special for the other boy. And the way Blaine was curling on Sam’s chest even if he was hardly conscious didn’t leave much room for imagination either. He hoped he didn’t have to see Sam losing the love of his life, like he had just done.

“We should bandage the wounds to avoid infection” Mike said after a prudent time so Sam could compose himself. “After that… it’s up to him”

“Thanks, Mike” Sam honestly and emotionally said as he held Blaine upright for Mike to start bandaging his upper body.

“You don’t have to thank me” Mike answered in a tired voice, glad he was working on Blaine so he didn’t have to look at Sam, because he was sure he would break down if he got to see the pity he was sure he was going to find there.

“Mike, I’m…” Sam tried again to find the right words to say to his friend.

“Don’t” Mike begged him to stop. “Please, I’m not ready for that yet”

“Ok” Sam obeyed, knowing Mike was quite an introvert person and he would need to deal with his emotions with himself first before he could even think of talking about them. And it was the least he could for him, especially after how he had forgotten about everything just to take care of Blaine.

“I know if there is someone here who can understand how I feel… that’s you” Mike said, stopping his task for a second to finally look into Sam’s eyes, letting him know he was very aware of his feelings for the curly-haired boy in his arms.

And, for the first time since his relationship with Blaine evolved into something else, Sam realized he didn’t care that someone else knew about it. In fact, it felt good that their love was so obvious that could be seen and felt without even having to announce it. So he just nodded at Mike, grateful for his help and his words, and wanting him to know that he perfectly understood his pain, as he had been very close to losing Blaine himself.

“Let’s just focus on saving Blaine, shall we?” Mike said, resuming his task of bandaging Blaine’s wounds. “You know how much Tina adored him. It’s the only thing I can do for her”

They finished bandaging Blaine in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts about everything they had lost that night –and what they still could lose, as Blaine wasn’t by any means out of the woods yet–, and only when he was sure he had done the best he can, Mike got on his feet and moved to the door to tell the others they could get in now.

Sebastian was the first one to appear, of course, anxious to get some information on Blaine’s state and to see for himself that he was still alive.

“How is he?” Sebastian asked, looking alternatively between Mike and Sam, who was still holding Blaine in his arms, still not ready to let go of him.

“He is… alive” Mike answered gravely, making everybody understand with his statement that there hadn’t been much for him to do, and it was only up to Blaine’s strength.

“So he was not bitten, after all” Trent said, also very glad to see his friend still alive.

“No” Sam answered while looking down at the sleeping boy on his chest with the ghost of a smile. “I guess that bullet from the shooter on the roof finally hit him, after all. The walker was probably already dead when it fell on him. But he’s not going to turn into one of them”

“Sam, he still…” Puck intervened, hating himself for it, but he couldn’t let Sam fall into false hopes when the worst scenario was still a very real possibility.

“I don’t wanna hear it” Sam angrily answered, squeezing Blaine’s body more protectively against his chest as if in defiance.

“I’m sorry, but you need to accept that, even if he was not bitten, he will turn into one of them if he dies” Puck insisted, sounding harsher than he had wanted.

“Well, then we need to keep him alive, right?” Sam answered in a sarcastic tone, only restraining himself from yelling because he didn’t want to disturb the injured boy in his arms. “Let’s keep him warm. Seb, you said you brought our clothes?”

“Yes, I’ve got them right here, let me grab his other sweater…”

“No, get me my purple hoodie. It’s bigger so it won’t bother his bandage” Sam asked, not voicing the real reason for him to want to give it to Blaine: the fact that Blaine absolutely loved that hoodie and that Sam wanted him to wear something that was his so he would feel more protected if he were to wake up –and it would also make Sam feel better to see him in his clothes, to know they were still connected in some way.

Sam very carefully dressed Blaine in his hoodie with Sebastian’s help and then refused to let go of him, feeling the need to feel him against his chest as he sat on the couch, holding him as if he was never going to let him go. He knew the others would understand that he missed the funeral because he couldn’t bring himself to leave Blaine alone for even a few minutes, in case he awoke. He knew Mike understood.

But after the bodies had been buried and everybody had regained their composure and gathered their belongings, the time for leaving had come. And Sam’s fears immediately grew again, making him refuse to move.

“We can’t move him, he wouldn’t make it” he said, not understanding how the others couldn’t see something that was so obvious.

“We can’t stay here, Sam, it’s too dangerous” Artie patiently explained, looking sadly at Blaine’s sleeping form and wondering if Sam would be right and the injured boy wouldn’t make it –even if staying was not an option–. “The walkers can come and go as they please now, and who knows if the place won’t fall down on us at any time”

“It’s not even warm anymore” Brittany tried to make Sam understand, as with half the walls of the place destroyed, the walkers were not the only danger once night came and the cold accentuated to its fullest.

“I’m not moving him” Sam stubbornly refused again, letting his head rest on Blaine’s as a way to make the others see he had no intention of changing his opinion.

“Sam, Blaine wouldn’t want to put you…” Puck tried to say, but Sam had had enough of his negativity for the day and he didn’t even let him finish.

“This is not about me!” he protested with rage. “I don’t care if I’m putting myself in danger! I need to look after him, and I can’t move him! I’m not risking his life on my benefit, you hear me? You can leave if you want, but I’m staying here with him”

“Sam!” Artie yelled at him, even moving his chair to the couch so he could grab onto Sam’s arm and shake him out of his stubbornness. “We are not leaving without you both again, you hear me? We already made that mistake once. We’ll help you take care of him. We’ll keep him alive. Together”

Sam remained quiet for a second, as if weighing up their possibilities and what Artie had said. He didn’t want to stay there either, he knew he was not an ideal solution by any means, but Blaine was too weak to travel, wasn’t he?

“Mike?” Sam said, asking without words for his opinion and some guidance to help him make a decision.

“I can’t guarantee you he will make it on the road, Sam” Mike lamented. “But I can’t guarantee you he would make it here either. Just… let us help you, okay?”

“Alright” Sam finally relented, and he very carefully put his arms under Blaine’s body and lifted him in his arms as he stood, carrying him in his arms just as he had done only a while ago, when he was sure he had already lost him.

“Do you need some help with him?” Puck offered, feeling bad he had argued with Sam more than once that day, even if he had only been trying to protect him.

“No, I’ve got him” Sam answered as he effortlessly carried the person he loved the most of the world towards the bus waiting for them outside –not ready to share his burden with anyone just yet.

“But Sam…” Puck insisted.

“I said I’ve got him” Sam answered shortly. “Pick up our things, if you want to help”

Puck hurried to obey and between him and Sebastian they took Sam’s and Blaine’s things to carry them next to their own, before they followed the others to the bus. They had no idea where they were going, or what the future held in store for them, but they knew the only way to make it was to stay together. And that’s what they were going to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not the end by any means, even if i'm aware it kind of sounded like that ;)


	19. Chapter 19

Sam sighed with relief as Puck carefully deposited Blaine next to him on the bus seat and he could put his arms around him again. Of course he hadn’t wanted to let go of him for even one second, but the bus –and especially its stairs– was narrow enough so that he couldn’t get in it with Blaine in his arms, so Puck and Sebastian grabbed him from the inside and waited until Sam was comfortably sitting on one of the seats to give him back to him, knowing he was not going to accept anything else. After all, Blaine was still unconscious so he couldn’t sit up on his own, and the seats weren’t big enough for him to lie down, so for Sam to hold him upright was probably the best solution anyway.

His arms immediately closed around the smaller boy, who was perched on Sam’s chest, and Sam kissed the top of his head comfortingly before he was even aware of it, glad to feel his warmth again. After being sure he was going to lose him, Sam knew it was going to be a long time before he would stop needing the physical reassurance that Blaine was still alive. But that gave him the option to embrace him and hold him close to his heart, which he knew was comforting to them both, so he guessed it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. When Blaine woke up he knew they would need to talk a lot of things through, and things would need to change from how they were. But that was what Sam wanted the most in the world now, anyway, and he would give Blaine anything he wanted, because that’s what he deserved. And because Sam wanted exactly the same he did, now that he had admitted to himself that he loved him with all his heart.

“I think maybe we just assumed too quickly that this is everything there is now” he heard Puck say, and he wondered if they had been talking about their destination for a long while as he daydreamed about being able to tell Blaine that he loved him.

“What do you mean?” Artie asked after Jake also helped him to his seat.

“I mean that we have no idea how far this virus, or whatever the hell this is, arrived. Maybe staying in a place is a mistake. Maybe we should just keep travelling until we walk out of this nightmare”

“But…” Sam tried to interrupt: they had promised to take care of Blaine, and travelling was not an option for him in his state.

“I mean after Blaine gets well, of course” Puck rushed to reassure him. “I think we should find a house or something and stay there for a while, and once Blaine and everybody else who is hurt are well enough to travel we should find our way… or at least try”

“I don’t know, Puck” Artie answered, sharing his doubts. “Is there any sense in that? Travelling is dangerous, why do it when we can be safe and sound in one place?”

“We are never going to be safe and sound, Artie” Puck protested, noticing the sadness in most of the other’s eyes when they realized he was right. “We were on a prison and we were attacked, for God’s sake!”

“It doesn’t have to happen again” Brittany, always the optimistic, intervened.

“But it might” Puck tried to make them see. “We’re not safe anywhere, and the sooner we accept that, all the better”

“So why do you want to travel, if we’re not going to be safe anyway?” Artie insisted.

“Because we need to make sure this is everything there is now” Puck answered reasonably, and he could see he was getting everyone convinced. “Maybe we just haven’t gone far enough yet. We haven’t even left Lima and we assume this is everything there is? We have no idea”

“And if there is someone out there still living in a civilized country why aren’t they coming to get us?” Artie asked, even if he could his arguments were getting poorer by the second.

“What if they think there are no survivors?” Puck asked in return. “Or what if they’re trying not for this to spread any further? Maybe they haven’t found the way to make it safe for them to enter the affected area, I don’t know. I only know we cannot be sure until we check”

“That’s what Blaine said” Sam intervened unexpectedly, surprising everybody because they thought he was so absorbed looking after the boy in his arms that he wasn’t following the conversation. “When I woke up from the coma and I wanted to stay at that house where we spent the first night, he said that we couldn’t just wait for things to get better, that we needed to do whatever it took to survive”

“Exactly” Puck quickly agreed, glad that Sam was agreeing with him even if he was angry at him at the moment for the way he had given up on Blaine too easily. “And when has Blaine been wrong so far?”

“Alright” Artie finally relented, knowing there was no other argument to refute Sam and Puck’s –and indirectly Blaine’s– arguments, even if he didn’t like the idea of travelling constantly that much. “If you all agree I will do it”

“But only once Blaine is 100% recovered” Sam felt obliged to remind everyone –Puck specifically, while looking intently at him.

“Of course” Puck rushed to agree, feeling guilty at how he had obviously lost Sam’s trust while trying to look out for him.

“So shall we get going?” Marley asked, not wanting to stay in the place where they had lost so much longer than necessary.

Everybody stood still in their places, waiting for the others to move, and it was only a minute after that they realized why: they were waiting for their driver, and Tina had been the one to drive the bus when they came to the prison from McKinley after the school was attacked. Sam’s heart went to Mike, who seemed to be getting smaller by the minute as he sunk further down on the front seat, away from everyone else, and he would have jumped to the driver’s seat himself to put an end to the situation if Blaine wasn’t lying against his chest and in such a need to be looked after.

Fortunately, Santana also read the situation very quickly and left Brittany’s side to pass by Mike and gently squeeze his shoulder as she went to take the driver’s place, like she had already done on their trip to the supermarket where they had lost Ryder.

“So what’s the destination?” she said in the most cheerful voice she could muster, given the circumstances.

“We should go to a supermarket” Unique suggested. “That way we would have everything we need at all times”

“It’s not a good idea” Sam answered, only mildly surprised that Mike wasn’t taking part of the conversation, as next to Blaine he was always the one to offer the most useful and intelligent points of view about their possible movements. “Anybody that pass it by could try and break into it for supplies. We need something discreet and safe”

“What about the fancy mansions at the outskirts of the town?” Kitty suggested. “They’re big enough for all of us and are bound to have more supplies than more modest houses”

“I think it’s a good idea” Puck agreed, after thinking for a minute. “We’ll see if we can find one of them which isn’t locked so we don’t have to break any windows”

“Ok, so let’s go, fasten your seatbelts, people” Santana joked as she turned the ignition on.

It was not a really long trip, but it would take a little while, so Sam rested his back on the seat and made himself comfortable at the same time that he brought Blaine’s body more closely to his chest, feeling physically incapable of losing contact with him even for one second, as if he needed to make sure he was still breathing at any time. Sam hated the fact that, even after everything he had been through, Blaine still couldn’t be left to rest, and he had to be travelling when that was clearly the last thing he needed. He hadn’t made a sound since Mike had cleaned his wound with alcohol, and there were no traces of consciousness on him anymore. And given how they had gotten rid of his bloody sweater and his wound or the bandage covering couldn’t be seen through the hoodie he was wearing now, it would almost look as if he was just sleeping, if it wasn’t for the flush of his cheeks or the paleness of the rest of his skin. And how said skin seemed to be getting gradually warmer with each passing minute.

Sam’s relief at the fact that Blaine had not been bitten as they had feared at the first moment was starting to vanish at how it seemed that the smaller boy was very far from being out of the woods yet. Getting shot was not small deal in the best of circumstances; getting shot with no doctors, no medicines, no sterilized environment and having to travel was surely very dangerous. And yes, he knew Blaine was strong –probably the strongest person he had ever known–, but even he had a limit.

Looking down at his peaceful face, Sam couldn’t help but smile at how much his own purple hoodie suited him. He chuckled to himself at how much Blaine adored that piece of clothing, and how he had stolen from him more than a couple of times, even before they became an issue. It looked too big on him, of course, but that just made him look all the more adorable to Sam’s eyes. And it reassured him to see it on Blaine, as it made him feel as if the smaller boy was still a bit his. As if he hadn’t ruined everything that was good between them with his insecurities and his fears. As if he and Blaine had always belonged together, as it should be.

“I’m sorry, babe” he apologized again with tears in his eyes that he refused to let fall as a punishment to himself, as he squeezed Blaine more strongly to his chest and kissed his forehead with a silent promise to take care of himself, now and after he recovered. Forever.

“You stay here” Puck got him out of his reverie, suddenly at their side, and one look through one of the windows in the bus told Sam they had already reached their destination. “Close the doors and we’ll get you both and Artie when we’ve picked a house and it’s safe for you to go out”

“Ok” Sam immediately agreed –he would have never accepted it for himself, but he would gladly do anything to keep Blaine out of danger–.

“And Trent, there is no way I’m letting you out there with that foot unless it’s absolutely necessary” Sebastian said, making Sam smile in spite of himself, as the tall guy was almost as strict with the people he cared about as he was himself.

“But Seb, it was only a wrong movement, it barely hurts anymore” Trent protested, trying to get up until Sebastian pushed him down on his seat, not taking no for an answer.

“Mike, why don’t you stay with them?” Puck suggested as he laid a gentle hand on the other’s shoulder, apparently taking him back to Earth as he had been lost in his own thoughts. “Someone needs to keep an eye on these guays in case something happens, and Sam will have his hands full with Blaine”

“Sure” Mike answered after a couple of seconds of trying to understand what he was being said, Sam noticed as his heart broke for him.

All the others went outside, Sam observed through the window, to decide which one of the houses around would be the most appropriate to live in until they resumed their travelling. Trent and Artie were also concentrated on looking outside as they kept a light conversation, so Sam thought it would be a good time for him to try and approach Mike again about his feelings. And since moving was not an option –given Blaine was resting against him and he didn’t want to move him more than what was absolutely necessary–, he would have to bring Mike to them.

“Mike?” he called him in a mildly loud voice so only him would react to it. “Could you come, please? I think Blaine is getting worse”

Mike immediately obeyed and rose from his seat, and Sam felt guilty for a second about manipulating him, even if he had the best of intentions.

“His fever is rising” Sam continued, unfortunately not lying, once Mike reached their position and sat on the seat immediately in front of them, turning around to them.

“Yes, I’m afraid it is” Mike answered with a sigh after his hand made contact with Blaine’s forehead for a second so he could feel it himself. “It might be just the shock of the shot or he might be getting an infection” Mike explained, trying not to alarm Sam too much with the options he was giving him. “But don’t worry too much, we’ll check the wound next time we change his bandages”

“And what if it’s infected?” Sam couldn’t stop himself from asking, forgetting for a second about the real reason he had called on Mike for.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we have to” Mike tried to reassure him with a pat to his shoulder before he started to leave again, but Sam stopped him first.

“Mike…” he said, but he immediately could see how Mike had read his intentions to get him to talk about his loss.

“Sam, I asked you not to” Mike said with a serious, almost angry, expression.

“I know, but…”

“Thank you, Sam, really, I know you only worry about me but… I need to deal with this on my own” he said before his eyes involuntarily moved to Blaine’s unconscious form and the ferocious grip Sam was keeping on him. “I’m sure you, of all people, can understand that”

“Yeah” Sam was forced to admit as his gaze also moved to Blaine’s face and his thoughts went to how he would be feeling if he had lost Blaine the way Mike had lost Tina.

“Then just let it go” Mike pleaded. “I’ll be alright”

“But if you need anything or someone to talk to…” Sam insisted, feeling horrible that he didn’t know how to help his friend. He wished Blaine was awake, he was much better with words and feelings than he was –hadn’t he proved that with their relationship?–, but he wasn’t, and Sam would need to make sure someone was there for Mike when he needed it.

“I’ll come find you when that time comes” Mike answered, even if it didn’t sound as if he was really going to do it.

“Ok” Sam was forced to surrender, knowing there was nothing he could do for him unless Mike wanted him to.

Mike didn’t have the time to return to his seat before Puck, Sebastian and Santana appeared again in the bus.

“We found the perfect house” Puck announced in a happy tone. “Small windows, only two entrances and it wasn’t even locked”

“And it’s big enough so that we all can be together but we don’t have to be over each other all the time” Sebastian added, looking knowingly at Sam as if to tell him that he knew the blond was indeed going to be all over Blaine all the time anyway, but the latter didn’t get it or just decided to ignore it.

“We’re going to take the bus to the back of the house” Santana added, already sitting on the driver’s seat and turning the engine on. “That way it won’t be as visible and anybody coming this way won’t immediately know there is people inside the house. Besides, we will be closer to the house so it will be easier to get Blaine inside”

“Thank you, guys” Sam gratefully said, knowing they were taking a lot of trouble just to make sure Blaine was alright.

“You don’t have to thank us” Sebastian immediately answered, not bothering to sit as they were already reaching their destination. “You know we all love little Blainey”

Sam looked quizzically at Sebastian for a second, not really knowing how to answer to that, as a very familiar feeling of jealousy rose in his stomach. What was Sebastian implying? That Blaine was a dear friend or… that he felt something for him? Of course it didn’t mean that Blaine would reciprocate his feelings if that was the case, but still… Sam didn’t like anybody meddling in their relationship, especially before he had had the chance to mend it. And he would have to ask Sebastian sometime about his intentions with Blaine.

Santana parked the bus as hidden amongst some trees as she was able before Sam had the time to dwell any longer on Sebastian’s feelings for Blaine, and Puck immediately went to him to help him with the injured boy.

“Can I take him from you to help you or are you going to bite me?” Puck joked, hoping to get Sam in a lighter mood, but the blond was not yet ready to joke around and just nodded his approval as he hurried to the bus’ door so he could go down the stairs and Blaine would go back to the arms he belonged to.

Puck and Sebastian took Blaine between them and moved him down the aisle of the bus and into Sam’s waiting arms. But Sam hadn’t taken a good grip on him yet when a hand on his shoulder scared the life out of him and almost made him drop Blaine to the floor.

“What the hell…?” he exclaimed as he tried to recover, gratefully accepting Sebastian’s help to comfortably keep Blaine in his arms again before he fell, his heart skipping a beat at the fact that Blaine could have been injured even further.

“You!” Sam heard Mike yell behind him, and when Blaine was secure in his arms again he turned around, just to discover the man that had threatened Blaine and Sebastian at the fence of their prison two days before the attack standing there.

The man seemed to be injured too, as he had two different blood stains that quite probably were bullet wounds. He was pale and shaking, and he was obviously too weak to be a threat. But Mike didn’t take pity on him, and he pushed him away from Sam and Blaine and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket to press him against the bus.

“Please, guys, you need to help me” the man said, and Sam couldn’t believe his cold blood at asking them for help after what he and his friends had cost them. “I know you’re good people, you wouldn’t leave an injured man to die like this, right?”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Mike asked, practically spitting every word, so great was the anger he was trying to conceal.

“Those bastards said that I was a lost cause and that I would only slow them down so they threw me out of the van on their way” the man explained, and he seemed to be having trouble even to talk, especially as Mike was practically chocking him. “I didn’t want to hurt you, guys, they made me, you have to believe me”

“Bullshit” Mike said as he violently pushed the man against the bus before letting go of him so he ended sliding down to the floor.

“Let’s go, Mike” Sam said, and just that once he wished he wasn’t carrying Blaine in his arms so he could physically take Mike away from there.

“Don’t go, boys!” the man said before they could move. “You’re good people, you wouldn’t let an injured man die like that, right?”

“Watch us” Puck said as he rested a hand on the upper part of Mike’s back and gently pushed him away from that horrible man.

“If you leave me here like that you will be no better than those guys!” the man shouted at their retreating backs. “Come on, it wasn’t me who killed any of your friends! Are you really going to leave me here to be devoured by those monsters?”

“No” Mike angrily answered before he quickly turned around again and in one swift movement got his gun out of the waistband of his jeans and shot the man in the head before anyone else could react.

“Mike” Puck said in astonishment as he tried to take the gun from his hands, afraid of any other stunt he could pull.

But Mike seemed to be as surprised as anybody else, and he let go of his weapon without a fight when Puck motioned for it. His gaze seemed empty and lost until he raised it to find Sam’s, and the blond could see a desperation in his eyes to be understood, to be absolved of a crime he had committed before even being aware of it. And Sam knew he was the only one in the position to do it, as he was the only one in a similar situation.

“It’s okay, Mike” Sam said with a gentle nod of his head in complete understanding, realizing he would have probably done the same if Blaine wasn’t alive in his arms in that precise moment. “Let’s go inside. We all need some rest”

Of course the shot alerted all the youngsters already inside, who quickly ran into the backyard to see if everyone was okay.

“What happened?” Brittany yelled, even if she sighed in relief at noticing that everybody seemed to be alright.

“Nothing, everything’s okay” Sam said as he started going towards the door, suddenly impatient to get Blaine comfortable and out of the cold, but he lowered his voice to whisper something in Kitty’s ear as he passed her by. “Get that man out of sight, please”

“Sure” Kitty immediately agreed even if she wasn’t sure about what had happened, though the way that Puck was gently leading Mike, who looked so lost, towards the door spoke volumes about the situation.

Sam tried to forget about what had just happened as he entered the house and he immediately focused his attention on the wonderful couch in the middle of the living room, where he gently left Blaine, as his arms were starting to tingle with fatigue in spite of how light the injured boy seemed to be.

“It looks like a nice place” Sebastian said as he helped Trent to one of the armchairs, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere after what had happened at the backyard. “Should we call on the rooms upstairs? ‘Cause I’m calling the biggest one”

“I think we should just camp here, downstairs” Sam intervened, ignoring Sebastian’s poor attempt of humor as he took a blanket that was resting on the backrest of the couch and tenderly covered Blaine with it.

“Why?” Puck said from his place next to Mike, not ready to let go of him just yet.

“When Blaine and I were in that house the first night out of the hospital he said that it was safer to stay downstairs, because that way you would hear immediately if someone was trying to get in” Sam explained as he looked at his sleeping friend’s face with a lot of admiration in his eyes. “On the second floor you would just get caught unawares, and then you would have no escape”

“It sounds reasonable” Puck had to agree. “We can always get some mattresses downstairs and get comfortable around here”

“He also put pots and pans in every door and window so they would make a lot of noise if they managed to enter, even though he had previously blocked any entrance with some furniture” Sam explained, his fingers moving to get lost in Blaine’s curls in a gentle caress without him even being aware of it.

“I’m not surprised he managed to keep you both alive for so long with so many brilliant ideas” Puck said with admiration and a fond smile that was not reciprocated by Sam.

“Yeah, but that’s what he is. He’s a survivor, after all” Sam answered, looking judgingly at Puck until he made the latter feel guilty all over again for doubting him.

“Well, then let’s get started getting everything ready so we can all have a rest” Santana suggested, feeling some kind of unresolved issues between the two friends even if she didn’t know what they were about. “Everybody who is not injured or taking care of the injured better lend a hand or they’ll have me to answer to”

**********

Everybody got lost around the house while doing different tasks to make their stay as comfortable as possible: getting makeshift beds ready, preparing lunch, making inventory of the supplies they had… They knew being busy was the best way to keep their sad minds occupied, so nobody complained about it.

Sam felt bad for not helping as much as he should, but at the same time he didn’t want to leave Blaine alone in case he woke up –the last thing he wanted was for Blaine to wake up terrified and in pain only to find himself alone–, so in the end he contented himself with doing things around the living room, like reorganizing the furniture to make room for the mattresses, sealing up the windows with wooden planks or taking a look in every single cabinet to see if he could find something that could prove useful.

“We brought those mattresses for you both, Sam” Jake said, getting his attention as he and Unique finished getting a couple of perfectly good and comfortable mattresses down the stairs. “We thought you should take the office next to the kitchen. It has a fireplace and that could come useful if we need to keep Blaine warm while he recovers. Plus I think Blaine could use some quiet while he is sick, right?”

“Thank you, guys” Sam honestly answered, glad that they would have some privacy while Blaine recovered, as there was little space on that office he had already visited and he knew no one else would ask to share with them. That way Sam would be able to take care of him while injured and make it up to him for how wrongly he had acted once he was okay.

He gently took Blaine in his arms once again, feeling reassured at the familiarity of Blaine’s weight against his chest, and followed the others towards said office, where he laid Blaine down as soon as the other two left the mattresses on the floor.

“You need some help with him?” Unique kindly offered, but Sam refused with a grateful smile.

“No, thank you” he answered as he made Blaine more comfortable on his new bed. “I can take it from here. Though if you could find some pillows and blankets…”

“Of course” Unique immediately agreed with a smile before she left the room after Jake.

“So? Do you like our new room?” Sam asked as he sat down next to Blaine’s unmoving form and picked his hand in both of his, acting as if they were just having a conversation because it was the only way he could find to stop himself from breaking into tears at all the guilt and worry and sorrow he was feeling. “It is more beautiful than the last one for sure, isn’t it? Though we’re back to the mattresses on the floor, are we never going to earn the right for a real bed or what?”

Sam chuckled to himself, imagining Blaine’s dorky laugh at his comment. But he wasn’t awake to laugh, and before that he had felt too hurt and betrayed to laugh, anyway, and Sam wondered for a moment if he would have the chance to enjoy Blaine’s laugh again.

“You don’t mind sharing with me, right? You’re not angry at me anymore, aren’t you? Someone needs to look after you, and I’m not letting anyone else do it, you very well know that” Sam said with a smile as his hand moved once again to play with the curls on Blaine’s forehead in a gesture that had become second nature to them. “But don’t worry, as soon as you wake up I will tell you how much I love you and how sorry I am and you’ll have to forgive me, right? I’m counting on your big heart for that and we both know you’re too kind for your own good”

“Sam?” Puck whispered as he knocked on the open door and poked his head around it, involuntarily interrupting Sam’s tirade as he brought some sheets and blankets for him. “I heard you needed these”

“Thank you” Sam answered coldly as he took the linens from Puck’s hands from his place in the bed, but he was surprised when the latter didn’t go away once his task was finished. “Look, if you’re here to tell me again how Blaine is not going to make it…”

“No, of course not” Puck immediately denied, and Sam noticed he was really making an effort to be positive. “I wanted to apologize for… giving up on Blaine so easily. I’ve wanted to do it all day. I’ve seen this little guy in action before, after all. I should have known he was not going to surrender so easily”

“Yes, you should have” Sam agreed, trying not to smile at the fondness on Puck’s voice when he called Blaine _little guy –_ as it was pretty obvious that he cared very deeply for him too.

“I was… just trying to protect you, you know? I didn’t want you to suffer more than necessary” Puck tried to justify himself, even though he could see now that that had been precisely his mistake: trying to protect Sam when the only thing Sam wanted was to protect Blaine.

“I know. And that’s the only reason I’m going to forgive you” Sam said in a warmer tone this time, not feeling the need to remain angry at one of his best friends anymore. “But if you ever doubt Blaine’s endurance again…”

“I won’t” Puck answered as he raised his hands in front of him in an act of surrender until he made Sam smile and he knew he was really forgiven.

Puck, happy at having recovered his bro, didn’t need an invitation and let himself fall on the mattress at Blaine’s feet, carefully so as not to jostle the injured boy.

“How is he?” he asked, honestly worried.

“As well as can be expected, I guess” Sam answered, not really wanting to go into how his fever was rising or how terrified he was that he would never wake up again.

“And how are you?”

“Much better now that I know he is going to be alright” Sam answered, and even if Puck thought he was probably being too optimistic, he refrained from saying anything this time.

“Good” he answered this time, before his gaze got lost in Blaine’s peaceful face. “Gosh, I really thought he had been bitten”

“Me too” Sam agreed, his body shaking involuntarily at the reminder of the feeling of thinking Blaine was doomed. “And he wouldn’t even have been hurt if it wasn’t for me”

“What do you mean? You say that because he was there to save us?” Puck asked, surprised he hadn’t realized Sam was feeling guilty about Blaine’s injury until that moment.

“No. I know nothing could have kept him away if there was the tiniest chance for him to save our lives”

“Then?”

“I couldn’t save him” Sam lamented, feeling the by now familiar sting of tears in his eyes that he again refused to shed. “I wasn’t fast enough… When I saw that man about to kill Blaine I shot at him, but I wasn’t fast enough. If I had killed that man only a second sooner he would have never gotten the chance to shoot at Blaine and he wouldn’t have been hurt”

“You know you saved his life, right?” Puck said, being completely honest even if he only wanted to make Sam feel better.

“How?” Sam asked, angrily drying some stray tear from his cheek that he hadn’t been able to stop.

“You saw what a good shoot that man was, didn’t you?” Puck explained. “You think he would have missed his shot from that distance and just injury Blaine on his shoulder instead of killing him if you hadn’t hit him? You stopped him from killing Blaine, Sam, you saved his life”

“You really think so?” Sam asked, desperate to believe Blaine’s being in the brink of death wasn’t his fault.

“Of course” Puck reassured him. “If anything, you should be proud of yourself. And I’m sure Blaine will tell you that himself once he wakes up”

Sam nodded gratefully before drying the rest of the tears from his cheeks, only slightly embarrassed that Puck had seen him breaking down like that. But only one look at Puck’s reassuring smile and Sam knew his friend understood.

“I should probably go back to my duties now, before Santana starts bitching about how lazy and selfish I am” Puck said as he rose to his feet, wanting to give Sam some space to deal with his battered emotions –though it was also true that he was afraid of Santana. “Take care of him, you hear me?”

“I will” Sam promised as he gratefully smiled at his friend.

**********

Hours went by and Blaine showed no sign of recovering consciousness or getting any better. On the contrary, his fever seemed to be getting higher, he was starting to sweat and his skin looked paler by the second. Sam had checked on the wounds a couple of times, and while the one on his back didn’t show any complications, the one on the front seemed more angry-looking around the edges and it seemed to be radiating heat, though there were no signs of pus and it didn’t smell funny –at least not yet–. If it was becoming infected only time would tell. But Sam was not an idiot, and he knew that the chances of such a wound recovering nicely without infection in a situation like that –with no medicines, no sterilized instruments, no doctors– were pretty slim.

The thought of leaving the room even for a minute hadn’t even crossed his mind –even if some of the guys had come and gone during the afternoon and tried to lure him to give it a rest– and he was now lying on the mattress next to Blaine, on his side with an arm around Blaine’s waist, hoping that Blaine would feel somehow that he was not alone and he would fight harder to survive. And that’s how Sebastian found them a while later when he came to check on the patient.

“Hey” he said, his lips breaking into a smile at the tenderness of the scene.

“Hey” Sam answered as he politely sat up for his guest.

“Do you want some supper? Unique is making sandwiches for everybody” Sebastian offered, as he knew Sam hadn’t gotten out of the room for the whole day –which meant he hadn’t taken a bite for the whole day too.

“No, thank you. I’m not really hungry” Sam unsurprisingly refused as he tiredly rubbed on his eyes.

“You should eat something, Sam”

“And I will, just… later”

“How is he?” Sebastian asked, not needing to specify who he was referring to as both gazes turned inevitably to Blaine.

“He’s burning up with a fever” Sam lamented, slightly shaking his head with frustration as he was quickly losing the strength to pretend to be positive. “Mike said it could just be the shock, but I think he’s getting an infection”

“Yeah, Mike mentioned it, so I brought some cold water and cloths to make compresses so we can cool him down” Sebastian said as he settled the washbowl that he was carrying –and that Sam hadn’t noticed until then– on the floor and sat on the edge on the mattress, next to Blaine’s unmoving form. “It’s a shame we don’t have ice, but the water is cold enough, I guess”

“You think that will make a difference?” Sam asked, his voice a mixture of hope and despondency that broke Sebastian’s heart.

“I don’t know” Sebastian admitted while he soaked one for the cloths in the cold water and brought it to rest on Blaine’s warm forehead. “But we’re not going to lose hope, ok? If someone can beat this, that is him. Right, Killer?” he asked with a smile as his eyes turned again to his unconscious friend.

They both fell into silence for a moment, each lost in their own feelings about the boy lying silent between them. Sam observed the tenderness which with Sebastian took the cloth again in his hand and wiped it all around Blaine’s face and neck, trying to cool his burning skin down and not for the first time he wondered what was going on between him and the boy who held his own heart. But he had nothing to lose anymore, and when he felt the jealousy returning to his stomach at the scene, he couldn’t help himself from asking.

“Sebastian, I need to ask you” Sam started in what he hoped didn’t sound as a threatening voice. After all, he didn’t want to start a fight or reproach him for anything; he honestly only wanted to know. “Do you have feelings for Blaine?”

“What?” Sebastian exclaimed, honestly surprised at the unexpected and direct question.

“Those last few days… were you trying to take him away from me?” Sam insisted, not caring about blowing up his own secret because he more than suspected that Sebastian was very aware of it.

“I think you were doing a great job with that yourself” Sebastian answered with a smile, only half joking.

“He told you?” Sam asked, slightly surprised that Blaine had confided in his friend after all, although he couldn’t really blame him after all the pain he had put him through.

“No, and not because I didn’t try to get it out of him! He didn’t want to betray you, but I’m not blind”

“Okay, listen…”

“No, you listen” Sebastian interrupted him, not caring about sounding too harsh because he really needed to make a point. “There is nothing between Blaine and me besides a nice friendship. I love him with all my heart, I really do, but I’m not in love with him. And what’s more important, he’s not in love with me either. Come on, even you can see he only has eyes for you! Do you know how he hurt his hands? Trying to break a hole through the wall so he could get to you”

Sam gasped about that new bit of information: with all the drama with the shot and how they had thought he had been bitten, he had completely forgotten about his battered hands. His heart aching with love for that wonderful human being, Sam picked one of Blaine’s hands to check that what Sebastian was saying was true, and then he strongly held it between his own, moved to no end about how much Blaine loved him in spite of how little he deserved it.

“The thing is: is he as important to you as you are to him?” Sebastian pointedly asked, getting him out of his reverie, and Sam marveled at how much he had been able to guess about his situation with Blaine.

“I…” Sam tried to explain, but Sebastian didn’t want to hear it.

“It’s not me you owe an explanation to” he gently stopped him, not wanting to invade Blaine’s privacy before he had had the chance to mend his relationship with Sam. “I’m leaving now with Trent, he was not lying when he said he wasn’t really injured, so we’ll try to find some antibiotic for Blaine somewhere so he can fight infection. We are not going to let him die, are we?”

“No” Sam immediately denied, grateful beyond words that Sebastian and Trent would risk their own lives like that for Blaine. “But it’s too dangerous”

“We’ll be careful” Sebastian promised. “I think it’s safer to do in the dark, so I should get going” Sebastian explained as he got up from the floor and turned to go, but he turned to Sam again before leaving, wanting him to reassure him that it was going to be alright. “Sam, Blaine will wake up and then you’ll be able to fix… whatever the hell you did. And you will make him the happiest man alive”

“No” Sam contradicted him, surprising Sebastian for a second until he explained himself. “Because that will be me”

Sebastian chuckled at his answer and nodded in agreement.

“We’ll bring him some medicines” Sebastian promised as he went.

“Sebastian?” Sam called him before he was entirely out of the room. “Thanks”

“Don’t thank me. We all want him to get well” Sebastian answered with a warm smile that was immediately reciprocated before he left the room and Sam was left to his own thoughts once again.

“So you were right in the end, weren’t you?” Sam said as he turned to his lover’s unmoving form. “Sebastian was just a friend, a great friend. I don’t know why I am surprised, though, you’re always right. But I’m warning you, I’ll deny having said that if you ever ask”

Talking and joking with Blaine, even if he wasn’t able to answer –or even listen to him, Sam was very aware of that– was the only thing keeping Sam sane. The guilt and the worry were eating him, and he only hoped that Sebastian and Trent would be alright and that they would find something to help Blaine.

Not wanting for him to dehydrate, Sam carefully drove a hand under Blaine’s back and lifted him enough so that he could try getting some water into him from a plastic bottle Marley had previously brought to him from the kitchen.

“Here you are, sweetie” Sam said as he neared the bottle to Blaine’s lips. “Now be a good boy and try to swallow some water. It’s been hours since the last time you drank something”

Very slowly –afraid he would choke– Sam let a small trickle of water fall through Blaine’s partially opened lips and he thought he could cry as he noticed Blaine instinctively swallowing.

“That’s it, babe” he gratefully said with a fond smile while tenderly squeezing Blaine’s upper body to his chest. “You did great”

Once he was sure Blaine had had enough water for the time being –and trying not to think of how they would get nourishment into him if he remained unconscious for too long–, he put the bottle aside and let Blaine’s head rest on his lap as he sat against the wall, not ready yet to lose contact with him. That way he could easily reach him while he followed Sebastian’s advice about cooling him down with the water and they could stay connected, exactly what Sam needed.

Careful so as not to bother his wound, Sam unzipped Blaine’s hoodie –his hoodie, Sam reminded himself as he fondly smiled at how long and adorable the sleeves looked on Blaine’s arms– and soaked one of the cloths to wet Blaine’s neck and chest with it, careful so as not to wet Blaine’s bandage. He didn’t know if those actions were going to change anything, but at least they made him feel as if he was helping, as if he was taking care of Blaine as the smaller boy deserved.

“So are you going to stop being so stubborn any time soon and start talking or am I going to have to wait much longer?” Sam joked as his hand tenderly made his way around Blaine’s torso with the damp cloth, resuming his one-sided conversation. “I’m bored out of my head here, you know? How you managed not to go crazy those two weeks you stayed at the hospital with me is beyond me. I’ve barely been a few hours watching you sleep and I can’t stand the silence anymore! ‘Cause you know, you’re usually a pretty noisy guy, you know? Either if it’s talking, or singing or playing your piano or whatever, but silence doesn’t really suite you, you know? And believe me, I know, our history goes back a long time now! How long we’ve known each other? Two and a half years, give or take?”

Sam smiled in spite of himself as he reminisced about everything that had happened between Blaine and him along the years and that had brought them to the point they were now.

“I remember the first time Kurt introduced you to us New Directions, and I thought _‘wow, what a beautiful guy, Kurt surely struck lucky!’_ Yeah, I know, I was as surprised as you are, I had never thought that about a guy before” Sam continued with a chuckle, pretending he was having a conversation with the other boy because it made him feel closer to him. “In my defense I’ll say you are, indeed, really beautiful, anyone can see that. I mean, even someone like Puck would have to admit it. Not that I’m going to ask him, because I don’t really like other guys looking at you the way I look at you. I can’t help it, I’m jealous like that, apparently. I had never been a jealous person before, but that’s probably because I had never felt something like this for anyone before either”

Sam sighed before he was able to stop it, his heart feeling so heavy with sorrow that sometimes he felt as if he couldn’t breathe. The cold cloth in his hand moved to Blaine’s forehead as Sam’s hand gently caressed his flushed face, hoping he would be at least giving Blaine some relieve from all his suffering.

“And I know it’s my fault, but… I miss you, Blaine. So much” Sam continued, not so lightly anymore. “It feels like we’ve been apart for ages instead of just a couple of days… You know what I miss the most? Your laugh. You know how I told you your smile can light a whole room? Well, your laugh can warm the coldest of hearts. And when all this shit started, I thought I’d never hear you laugh again. But then we got to the prison, and we created that illusion that we were safe, and then we happened and… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that happy. The first thing I saw each morning was your smile, whether you were awake or not. Did you know that you smile in your sleep? And then I just needed to say any stupidity and you would be laughing like an idiot. And that was probably my favorite moment of the day, seeing you so relaxed and at ease and… so you. And I miss it so much… I obviously miss your kisses too. And everything that comes after that, if you know what I mean… I never had such a loving partner before, someone who could make each moment so special and who made me feel so loved…”

Sam interrupted himself when he couldn’t help it anymore and broke into desolated sobs, his eyes filling with bitter tears that for once he didn’t even try to stop. He took one of Blaine’s injured hands to his lips and kissed each one of its knuckles devotedly, as if willing him to wake up that way. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.

“So Blaine, please, even if you don’t forgive me and you never want to laugh with me, or kiss me or make love with me again, you have to wake up. I can’t stand this silence anymore” Sam pleaded, bending down to join their foreheads together as a plea, trying to ignore how warm Blaine’s felt to the touch.

But Blaine still refused to wake up.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might know, my PC died. I was able to confiscate my father's one to finish this, but it doesn't have a corrector so you might find even more mistakes than usual. Be warned!

Sam abruptly awoke from a nap he hadn’t intended to take, still sitting up against the wall with Blaine’s head on his lap, and he needed a second to understand that the sound that had woken him up was that horrible hissing he knew so well. His heart in his throat even if he was half sure he had just been dreaming, he looked around the room –their new room, he remembered, as they were not in the prison anymore– and was horrified to see the half body of a walker sliding down the floor, one of its hands already on Blaine’s foot as it tried to reach him to bite him.

“What the hell…?” Sam exclaimed as he extricated himself from under Blaine’s upper body and ran to the foot of their makeshift bed to kick the walker’s head with all his forces to get it away from the injured boy, and once he was far enough from Blaine, he reached into the waistband of his pants to get his gun and effectively shot the walker in the head.

Terrified that he had not been fast enough, Sam forgot about the dead walker and the weapon in his hands and looked at his friend's sleeping form, searching for any sign that he had been bitten.

“Oh my God, Blaine, tell me it didn’t get you” Sam pleaded as he crouched down to check on Blaine’s legs and make sure the walker hadn’t had the chance to bite him, even if there wasn’t any blood to indicate that it might have happened.

Rolling both of Blaine’s pants legs up, he couldn’t help a relieved sign when he saw they didn’t have any wound on them, and he took a moment to caress his calves before he covered them again and the sound of running steps reached the office.

“What happened?” Puck asked in panic as he took a look at Sam’s hands on Blaine’s legs and at the walker at their feet.

“Is everyone okay?” Sam asked, trying to make sense of what the hell had just happened. “Did the walkers break in?”

“No, we were just chilling out on the living room, no one entered” Artie explained, his eyes showing the same terror than Puck’s at the scene.

“Then what the fuck was a walker doing in the office?” Sam yelled out of the blue, his own panic surfacing in the form of anger at his careless friends.

“It’s impossible that it entered, everything is completely sealed up” Jake explained in their defense.

“Then it must have already been here when we arrived!” Sam refuted him in a loud tone, standing up to make more of an impression, his eyes full of fury “Did someone have the brilliant idea to check every room before deciding it was safe for us to stay here? Fuck, haven’t you learned anything at all?”

“Sam, calm down, maybe we…” Artie tried to appease his friend, but Sam’s heart had yet to return to its normal pace after the fright he had just experienced, so he was not yet ready to be reasonable.

“I won’t calm down! It almost got Blaine, it was already grabbing his foot when I noticed it!” Sam yelled for an explanation, his own body shaking at the reminder that it had been too close.

“Shit, is he okay?” Brittany asked.

“Yeah, though no thanks to you lot” Sam spat in response.

“I really don’t know how that happened” Puck intervened in a reassuring tone as he approached Sam and rested a hand on his shoulder, hoping to calm his friend down. “But it’s obvious we made a huge mistake somehow, and we’re sorry. We’ll check the house throughout immediately”

“I think I might know what happened” Mike intervened, and his voice sounded so broken and sad that all the hearts in the room went to him. “I opened the door to the basement at the end of the corridor to have a look there and… somehow I got distracted before going down and I must have left the door open. Maybe it was there and it took it so long to get here because of its missing its legs”

Sam’s anger immediately vanished to be replaced by an immense pity towards his broken friend and more than a bit of guilt about his outburst, now that he knew it had been a honest mistake from someone who was clearly too upset to be thinking clearly. If he had known it had been Mike from the beginning he would have never reproached them for anything, much less yell at them like that.

“I’m sorry, Mike” Sam rushed to apologize. “It could have happened to anybody and…”

“Don’t pity me, please” Mike didn’t let him finish, as he obviously didn’t want anybody’s compassion. “It was the most irresponsible mistake and it could have cost us a lot… As if we hadn’t lost enough as it is…”

“Don’t beat yourself up over this, Mike, it’s not that big a deal” Sam insisted as he tried to rest his hand on Mike’s shoulder, but the latter moved away slightly to avoid it.

“Would you be so forgiving if it had been anybody else putting Blaine in danger?” Mike cut him off again, the sadness in his eyes now buried under a layer of annoyance. “You wouldn’t, right? Then don’t tell me it’s okay and stop treating me as if I was made of glass”

Everybody remained silent for a second, too surprised at Mike’s harsh words, but still understanding of what he was going through, so they didn’t dare to say anything. But that was exactly what Mike wanted to avoid, he hated seeing the pity in their gazes, and he knew the only way to avoid it was to be left alone.

“I’ll go check the basement immediately, in case there are more of them trying to make their way up” he said, and he was gone before anyone else had the time to answer.

“I’ll go with him” Puck offered without hesitation, squeezing Sam’s shoulder comfortingly for the last time. “Someone please take that thing out of here”

The others obeyed and got the walker outside, leaving Sam alone with his thoughts and with the still sleeping Blaine. Sam sighed –he felt as if that was the only thing he had been doing for weeks– as he again moved to sit against the wall, next to Blaine’s head. He felt horrible about causing Mike more pain, even if involuntarily, but… he had panicked when he had seen that thing so close to Blaine. Maybe he had overreacted because of his own guilt about having fallen asleep instead of watching over the boy he had sworn to protect only hours ago. What a great way of looking after him, right?

Sam checked on Blaine’s forehead, and was appalled to discover his fever had increased even higher. His cheeks were flushed, and he had started to shiver. Sam resisted the temptation to throw a blanket over him to keep him comfortable, because he knew what he really needed was to cool him down. Very carefully, and hating himself for causing his lover more discomfort, he took Blaine’s hoodie off and resumed his task at cooling his warm chest with the water Sebastian had brought to them. He tried to ignore how Blaine’s shivering increased with the cold water, and he thought he was going to go crazy when the smaller boy started whimpering in his suffering.

“I’m sorry, love” Sam whispered, comfortingly caressing the top of Blaine's head. “I know you feel cold, but we need to bring this fever down before it becomes too dangerous”

“Except that it’s not going to happen” Sebastian suddenly interrupted him, noisily entering the room, and by the bright smile adorning his face, Sam knew he was bringing good news.

“Did you find something?” Sam asked in a rush, forgetting all about manners with his impatience, though Sebastian didn’t seem to care.

“Yeah, we went to a drugstore that apparently hadn’t been plundered yet. We brought all kind of supplies: alcohol, bandages… But what’s more important: we found some antibiotics that are going to save Blaine’s life” Sebastian happily explained as he kneeled at Blaine’s other side to hand them to Sam.

“But… how do we know these are the right medicines in his situation?” Sam asked, not wanting to crush Sebastian’s hopes but afraid of putting Blaine’s already weak health at risk.

“I know we can’t be totally sure, but these are broad-spectrum antibiotics, I read it on the leaflet” Sebastian explained, as the reason it had taken Trent and him so long to come back was how conscientious they had been in finding just the right thing. “They’re supposed to work on avoiding infections like Blaine’s, right?”

“I don’t know…” Sam hesitated. Even if he had immediately agreed on getting Blaine some medicines when Sebastian suggested it, now that it was time to give them to him he wasn’t so sure. “What if they don’t work? What if there are secondary effects and he ends up worse than he is now?”

“Sam, if we don’t do something he will…” Sebastian stopped himself before saying the word _die_ , not being able to pronounce it. “He will not make it, and we both know that. Let’s give him a chance”

“Alright” Sam finally relented, his stomach turning into knots at the risk they were taking, even if he knew there wasn’t any other option. “Let’s just hope we don’t have to regret it”

**********

Time went by without any real changes. Sebastian had gone to sleep hours ago, feeling completely exhausted, after trying unsuccessfully to convince Sam to have some shut-eye too, that nothing was going to happen, but the latter was more stubborn and totally refused to it –especially when he remembered what had happened the last time–. Some of the others, mainly Puck, Artie, Marley and Trent, had come and gone a few times during the long hours of the dawn to try and relief Sam from his watching duty, but he had gratefully refused one time after the other, saying he wasn’t that tired and that he needed to be there when –and not if– Blaine woke up. Mike hadn’t appeared again, of which Sam could really not blame him after what had happened as he was probably feeling too ashamed for his mistake and about Sam's involuntary outburst. Sam wished there was something he could do for Mike, knowing very well how he must be feeling after losing Tina in such a terrible way, but all his attention was focused on Blaine and he had to prioritize his recovery over everything else, as selfish as that might sound. And there wasn’t anything Sam could do for Mike until the latter was ready to let him, anyway. And he suspected that, even if he obviously wanted for Blaine to recover, seeing him was hard for Mike, as it only reminded him that he had been given a chance that Tina hadn't.

In the end, of course, exhaustion took over and once again Sam fell asleep without him even noticing, even if he was just sitting up against the wall. He had been so anxious and worried that he had needed to take Blaine's upper body from the bed and hold it against his chest, so he could keep him close and feel every one of his lover's breaths, so he could be sure he was still alive at any time. And that position had calmed him down a bit, and Blaine's rhythmic breathing had dulled him to sleep in spite of himself, even if the grip on Blaine's body hadn't faltered a bit.

And it was like that, a couple of hours later, when Blaine started reagining consciousness.

The first thing Blaine felt as he came to was pain: there was a raging ache in his shoulder that almost made him scream as he tried to move his arm, even if he had no idea where it came from.

The second thing would be confusion: why was he in so much pain? Why did he feel so weak and fuzzy and had no recollection of how he had gotten to be in that situation?

The third thing was terror: where was Sam? Would he be alright? If he was in that state, how would Sam be?

Feeling tears coming to his eyes at everything he couldn’t understand, he tried to open his eyes to investigate. That proved to be difficult, as there was a lot of light in the room coming through a large window. So he wasn’t in the prison cell, that was for sure. He should have noticed that before, though, by the softness of the mattress under him. But wait, his upper body wasn’t lying on said mattress. He was lying against someone’s firm chest. In someone’s familiar arms. Sam’s arms.

Relieved to no avail that Sam was alright –and trying for his heart not to burst at the thought that Sam was keeping him in his embrace while apparently taking care of him– he decided to make his presence known. After all, he desperately needed some answers as to why had happened to him. And make sure Sam was really alright.

“Sam?” he tried to say, although his voice sounded so hoarse from lack of use that no more than a whisper came out of his throat.

“Mmm” Sam murmured, as apparently he had been sleeping too.

“Sam?” Blaine tried again, a little louder this time, and it was enough to make Sam wake up and sit up in a rush –to which Blaine winced, the slightest movement sending rivers of pain along his shoulder and chest– as if he had been waiting for that moment for ages.

“Oh my God, Blaine! You’re awake!” Sam happily exclaimed, his voice filled with relief and excitement as he tenderly cupped Blaine’s cheek –his other arm still holding him up against his own body.

“Sam…” Blaine weakly attempted to talk again, but apparently there was so much fear and pain in his eyes that Sam wouldn’t let him finish.

“Schhh, don’t try to talk, babe, it’s okay” Sam kindly shushed him as his hand moved inevitably to the curls to remove some stray curls from Blaine’s forehead. “You’re okay. I’ve got you” Sam sounded so tender and reassuring as he carefully squeezed him more strongly to his chest that Blaine’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, B, I’m so glad you’re back. Don’t ever frighten me again like this, ok?”

“Sorry” Blaine whispered, even though he didn’t exactly know what he was apologizing for. He just didn’t like seeing Sam’s eyes so filled with anguish as they were now.

“It’s okay” Sam answered with a shaky chuckle as he started spreading desperate kisses all around Blaine’s face, practically suffocating the still feverish boy.

“Sam…” Blaine protested, weakly lifting a hand to Sam’s cheek to stop him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m an idiot, but I’m so excited you’re awake!” Sam immediately apologized after reluctantly stopping his loving –but annoying– ministrations. “You can't even imagine how I’ve missed you!”

“Me too” Blaine honestly answered because, even if he had been unconscious, he felt he had been kept apart from the man he loved for years, instead of a couple of days.

“No, but you don’t understand” Sam contradicted him, his eyes filled of an intensity that would have scared Blaine if he hadn't been so tenderly held between Sam's arms. “I love you, B. I love you so much”

“You do?” Blaine asked, not daring to believe he was hearing the words he had been waiting for days even if they sounded so honest -maybe he was still dreaming?

“Yes, of course I do! More than anything!” Sam said with a shaky voice, hating the surprise in Blaine's eyes at his declaration of love –how he had made things in such a wrong way, he would never understand–. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but you mean the world to me”

“That sounds nice” Blaine whispered with a tired smile, making Sam's heart ache with how he was still able to light the room with his smile even in his injured state –and with how he knew that, even after everything he had put him through, that smile was only for him.

“And it's completely true” Sam promised with a tender kiss to Blaine's forehead as the latter's eyes fluttered closed on their own accord. “So please, babe, you have to fight. I know it hurts, and it's hard, but you have to fight, B, for me, I'm begging you”

“Ok, Sammy” Blaine agreed with an exhausted but tender voice that brought tears to Sam's eyes, especially at hearing his nickname for him that he felt he hadn't heard for years after their fallout.

“I knew I could trust you” Sam joked, but the tears were so obvious in his voice that Blaine forced himself to open his eyes to look at the other boy.

“Don’t cry, please” Blaine begged, even gathering enough strength to raise a hand to Sam's cheek to erase the offending presence of tears on his soft skin, his tender movements only achieving to make Sam cry harder. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing” Sam answered with a smile as he captured Blaine's hand and held it to his lips so he could kiss its knuckles.

“Why are you crying?” Blaine insisted, Sam's unusual tears keeping him from just letting go.

“Because I’m so happy right now” Sam honestly answered, squeezing Blaine's body to his chest more strongly to make him feel how happy he was to have him. “I was so afraid you were never going to open your eyes again”

“What happened to me, Sam?” Blaine asked, more and more alert at each passing minute. “Why does everything hurt?”

“Are you in a lot of pain?” Sam asked, immediately worried again.

“My shoulder feels like it’s on fire” Blaine confessed with a wince, apparently still too sleepy and stunned by the fever to try and hide his pains, as he would surely do in other circumstances.

“You were shot” Sam bluntly explained, not knowing how to put it in a ligther way, wishing there was something he could do to make him feel better. “You have a nasty wound on your shoulder”

“I was shot?” Blaine asked, in complete astonishment. He had gotten a bullet? It seemed so surreal that he felt as if he was in a movie.

“Yeah. There was an attack on the prison and, as always, you had to save the day. And me” Sam explained with a fond smile, not forgetting for a second that Blaine had gotten injured while saving his life. “You don’t remember?”

“Some of it” Blaine answered after a few seconds of trying to put his thoughts in order.

“Well, you shouldn’t be thinking about that now” Sam gently admonished him, knowing the most important thing for Blaine right then was to recover his strength –they would have time to discuss everything that had happened some other time, when he was feeling better–. “You first need to recover your strength, you were very seriously hurt”

“I’m alright now” Blaine answered all too quickly, which of course made Sam snort in scepticism.

“I pretty much doubt that”

“Well, then I _will_ be alright”

“That I believe” Sam replied with a chuckle that immediately turned into a tender smile as his eyes gazed more deeply into Blaine's golden orbs. “All this time and you still haven’t stopped amazing me, you know? There is still nothing you can’t do”

“What do you mean?”

“I asked you for a miracle and you did it”

“What miracle?” Blaine asked, wondering if he just hadn't really woken up yet because he was not following the conversation.

“You lived” Sam answered, his voice catching in his throat again as he remembered how he had begged Blaine to live when he still thought he had been bitten.

“I guess I didn’t want to leave you alone” Blaine answered in a loving and honest tone that made Sam's melt in gratitude that he had recovered the most amazing human being he had ever met.

“I’ll never leave you alone again either” he promised, intending to keep his promise until the end of time.

“That sounds so good…” Blaine added, not being able to hide how happy he felt at Sam's change of heart by the smile decorating his face, even if it was small due to his illness.

“And believe me, it’s completely true” Sam answered, before deciding to change into a lighter tone before he got Blaine too emotional, which he clearly didn't need right then. “And what, aren't you going to say anything about our new quarters?”

“Where are we?” Blaine asked as he looked around them for the first time, and Sam was glad to see some curiosity in his eyes –which would help to keep his mind away from the pain he was feeling.

“In a beautiful house on the outskirts of Lima. I’ll show you around in a few days, ‘cause right now you don’t seem able to hold your own head, let alone the rest of your body”

“Very funny. Try getting shot and tell me how it feels”

“I wish it had been me, Blaine” Sam replied before he could even stop himself –talk about not wanting to get too intense...– “I would have traded places with you without a second thought”

“I wouldn’t have let you” Blaine honestly answered, as he still felt responsible for Sam's security, like he had done ever since his coma –and because there was no way he was going to let Sam suffer if he could help it.

“I know” Sam nodded in agreement, knowing how stubborn his friend was. “In fact, I would have been the one getting a bullet in the first place if you hadn’t made an apparition. And no, I’m not going to say thanks when it’s clear you were only looking for attention” he dared to joke, because he knew Blaine would understand how grateful he really was anyway.

“You ungrateful bastard…” Blaine joked.

“You hero wannabe” Sam retorted, and his heart had never felt lighter than how it did when Blaine chuckled at his poor atempt of humor.

“I’m so tired” Blaine confessed after a few seconds, though it was obvious he was trying to fight the need to close his eyes and let himself go.

“Then sleep” Sam tenderly ordered him, his hand moving to Blaine's hair, as usual, to let his fingers get lost into its soft wildeness.

“I’m not ready to separate from you just yet”

Sam’s heart felt about to burst at the smaller's boy obvious love for him, even if he wasn't sure he deserved it, so he knew he had to reciprocate somehow and give him something in return: and that was taking care of him until he was 100%.

“I’ll stay here with you, ok? I’ll hold you” Sam promised, smiling as he noticed Blaine's face lightning up like a Christmas tree at the offer.

“You promise?” Blaine asked, hating to sound so vulnerable even if he knew Sam would understand and not judge him for it.

“Pinky promise” Sam answered with a chuckle that went directly to Blaine's heart.

“Ok” Blaine finally agreed as he nestled more comfortably against Sam's firm and familiar chest. “I love you, Sammy”

“I love you too, babe” Sam answered, surprising even himself at how easy saying those words was now that he had admitted them to himself.

“I like you calling me _babe_ ” Blaine said in a slurred voice, practically asleep already, and Sam couldn't help but to chuckle at his trademark sweetness.

“Just sleep already, you dork” he joked, though he rested a kiss on the top of Blaine's head that belied the true sentiment behind his words.

Blaine didn't answer anymore, but the smile on his lips told Sam he had heard and appreciated his comment before falling asleep again. Sam had thought it was impossible to love someone more than how he loved Blaine as he watched him sleep, praying for him to wake up, but he knew now that he had been wrong: their little exchange from only a second ago, the way Blaine had instantly forgiven him and told him he loved him, just made Sam fall for him all over again, even more strongly than before.

He had to make a big effort to remind himself that things were still looking pretty rough. He wasn't a fool: he didn't want to fall into the trap of false hopes, as the fact that Blaine had been awake didn't mean he was out of the woods yet by any means; his fever was still as high as before –though it was also true that it hadn't climbed any higher in the last few hours–. But it was surely a good sign, right?

And even if he was at the verge of infection –his fever was a clear indicator of that–, maybe they would avoid for it to become too serious thanks to the medicines that Sebastian and Trent had brought for him. And well, he was not delirious or anything, their conversation had been a good proof of that. The way he had been so surprised and moved when Sam told him he loved him... and how he had immediately answered that he loved him back...

Sam didn't deserve someone loving him like that, he knew that. Blaine had given him absolutely everything and he had gotten nothing in return, even when he had asked for so little from him. But Sam was going to make it better; he was going to make himself worthy of Blaine's love. And he was going to start immediately.

Making sure he was already deeply asleep, Sam kissed Blaine's forehead again and very carefully let go of him to let him rest on the mattress, tucking him up with his blankets all the way to his neck to make sure he wouldn't go cold in his absence. And then, for the first time since they arrived, Sam stood up and walked out of the office that had become their room to go meet everybody else in the living room.

To say his presence there was a surprise for the other youngsters would be an understatement, as absolutely none of them had been expecting him to leave his place at Blaine's side voluntarily -which instantly made them fear the worst.

“Sam!” Sebastian exclained, being the first to react. “Is Blaine okay?”

“Yeah, he’s sleeping” Sam rushed to answer, understanding what was going in everybody's head at his presence there after the way he had refused to leave Blaine for even a second until then. “He’s a little better, in fact; he woke up for a few minutes” he explained, smiling in gratitude as everyone started applauding and cheering in happiness at the good news. “I’ll go back to him immediately, but I wanted to tell you guys something first”

“What is it, Sam?” Puck encouraged him, sensing it was something important to his friend.

“I… love Blaine” Sam simply said before he even tried to find the right words to make himself understood.

“We know that, Sam” Artie answered with a fond smile towards his kindhearted friend –they had been a direct witness to the closeness of the two friends a thousand times, after all, so it was no news for them.

“No, I mean… I’m in love with him” Sam corrected himself, knowing this time they would understand exactly what he meant.

“Oh” Artie exclaimed, not really knowing what to say. Okay, he hadn't been expecting that, obviously, but... he couldn't say he was all that surprised.

“Even if I hadn’t admitted it to myself, we’ve… kind of been in a relationship for some time now. I just wanted you all to know that. I owe him that” Sam finished, aware of how much he was blushing about opening his heart like that in front of everyone, even if it hadn't been as difficult as he had expected. “I have to go back to him now, I promised him I would hold him while he slept, so...”

Sam didn't wait to see how his sudden confession fell upon his friends, not feeling yet ready to deal with any possible rejections or questions it might arise. But before he could completely leave the room, someone finally reacted and a voice stopped him in his tracks.

“So you two have been…?” Puck asked in his usual cocky voice, not needing to finish his question for everybody to know what he was asking.

“Yes, we’ve been” Sam answered with a smirk as he turned around to face his friend, grateful for the absolute normality which he had taken the new information, even daring to joke about it. “But I’m not going to give you more details”

“Ok, you go back to him now, but don’t think for even one minute I’m going to let you get away with the fact that you had vodka in your room and I very well know you both got drunk the first night at the prison”

“I won’t give you more details about that either, sorry”

“What a beautiful drunken mistake, though, right?” Puck said, for once getting a bit sentimental, and Sam could only smile dreamily as he remembered how he had kissed Blaine that night for the first time and how that had been the start of the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to him.

“The most beautiful one, yeah” he agreed with the brightest smile they had ever seen on him.

**********

It was a good while later that Sebastian knocked on the closed door of the office before opening it, as silently as possible in case its occupants were asleep. The image he found inside –Blaine still deeply asleep with Sam completely wrapped around him as he spooned him, very awake and guarding the other's sleep with a firm grip around his waist.

“Am I interrupting something?” Sebastian whispered in a joking tone.

“Don’t be silly” Sam answered as he sat up on the mattress, though Sebastian was glad to see it was out of respect for him and not because he was embarrassed to be caught like that. “He just… feels protected and rests easier this way. And it also makes me feel a whole lot better to have him in my arms, so…”

“You don’t have to explain, Sam” Sebastian immediately cut him off as he also sat at Blaine's other side, just as the night before. “I’m just glad you both could make it work”

“Well, it was about time for me to stop being a coward” Sam replied, noticing how good it felt to be able to openly talk about his feelings.

“Well, it was very brave of you to do what you just did”

“It wasn’t. I should have done that from the beginning”

“Even then, Blaine will be so proud of you…” Sebastian said, smiling so encouragingly at Sam that the latter could only reciprocate.

“I really hope so” Sam said with a hopeful smile.

“So how is he?” Sebastian said as he lightly rested his hand on Blaine's forehead, not wanting to wake him up. “I think his fever has gone down some”

“It has, right?” Sam excitedly answered. “And he doesn't look as far away now as he sleeps, you know? I mean, he is not unconscious anymore, he's just sleeping”

“Yeah, I know what you mean” Sebastian agreed with a lighter heart, now that he could see Blaine was doing so much better, and he couldn't help a chuckle when he noticed Sam was trying hard to hide a yawn. “Sam, you need some sleep too”

“I need to take care of him, in case he gets worse or something” Sam unsurprisingly refused, just as he had done all the other times.

“I will watch over him for you while you sleep” Sebastian suggested, but he knew he needed to be more convincing when he noticed Sam’s hesitation. “I won’t leave him alone for a second, I promise”

“No, Seb, thank you but…” Sam started to refuse again, but this time Sebastian wasn't taking no for an answer.

“Hey, you might be his boyfriend or whatever the hell you are to him, but I’m also his friend and I want to be there for him too, ok? You’ve monopolized him enough as it is” Sebastian said in a mockingly stern tone, only half jocking.

“Alright” Sam surrendered with a grateful smile –after all, he knew he would have to take some rest himself some time, and it was better to do it when Sebastian was there to take care of Blaine–. “I’ll lie down for a bit. But I’m laying right there, don’t think I’m going too far”

“I wasn’t expecting you to” Sebastian replied as he watched Sam move to the other mattress a couple of feet away, which had been unused until then.

“And you’re not allowed to lie with him like I was doing” Sam jockingly reminded his friend as he finally lay down.

“Damn it” Sebastian exclaimed, pretending to be bummed. “Can I sit next to him, though?”

“I guess that would be alright” Sam answered with a chuckle as he covered himself with a blanket and fell asleep almost instantly under the security that he was leaving Blaine in good hands –even if only for a little while.

**********

Sebastian brought one of the hundreds of books he had found on the living room with him and sat down on the mattress in the office, right at Blaine's side. He felt more hopeful than he had done since the attack, and he had even managed to get Sam to rest. So with the book in his hands and a smile on his lips, he resolved to spend his morning looking after his friend.

It wasn't until more than a couple of hours later that Blaine started showing any signs of waking up. Sebastian put his book aside after the first grunt that escaped Blaine's lips, but waited for him to fully wake up on his own pace.

“Hey, Killer” he whispered with a smile as soon as Blaine opened his eyes, crouching slightly to get into his line of vision.

“Seb” Blaine said with a hoarse voice, making Sebastian very happy that he had recognized him immediately and he seemed perfectly coherent and alert.

“Oh my God, I’ve missed those huge eyes so much” Sebastian exclaimed as he happily took Blaine's hand in his. “How are you feeling?”

“Honestly? Like shit” Blaine answered with a smile, though Sebastian could easily see he was only half joking.

“Well, I’m not surprised” Sebastian answered as he once again checked for fever on Blaine's forehead. “At least your fever has gone down some. We brought some painkillers, if you need them”

“I can stand it, we don’t want to waste them in case someone needs them more than me in the future” Blaine answered, not surprising his friend in the slightest.

“I don’t want to sound cruel, Blaine, but I don’t think there’s much space to be worse than you were without dying”

“Still… I can deal with it”

“Ok, but you gotta promise to ask for them if it gets any worse, ok?” Sebastian said with a stern look that made Blaine smile.

“Ok” he replied.

“Who am I kidding, I so know you’re not going to do it” Sebastian lamented, and the chuckle it elicited on Blaine sounded like celestial music to the taller boy.

“Where’s Sam?” Blaine asked, trying to sound casual even if he was dying to know where the blond boy was –and why he wasn't at his side anymore.

“Right there, don’t think he ever moves too far away from you” Sebastian answered, pointing with his head at the other mattress. “He just succumbed to exhaustion, finally, even if I had to force him to lie down”

“He’s been very worried, right?” Blaine asked with a hint of sadness, hating that he had been the one to cause Sam any pain.

“He was not worried, Blaine, he was… totally crazy” Sebastian explained, more seriously this time. “If you hadn’t lived… I don’t think he would have either”

“Well, he… he’s such a good friend” Blaine answered, not really knowing how to justify Sam's attittude without giving away their real situation.

“Blaine, I know he is in love with you and that you’re in a relationship with him or whatever that is. We all know”

“You all know?” Blaine asked in astonishment. How the hell had they found out? And since when what they had could be called a relationship?

“Sam told us the truth” Sebastian explained, smiling at the utter surprise in Blaine's expression. “Not that he needed to say anything the way he desperately clung to you when you were ill, but… he still told us. He said he needed to come clean, for you”

“He did that?”

“You bet he did”

“But why?” Blaine asked, still not able to believe that not only Sam had admitted he loved him, but he had told everyone. Just as Blaine had always wished.

“Because I love you” Sam interrupted them, having awoken at the other's conversation and needing to explain himself. “And coming clean with my feelings and letting everybody know about them is the only thing you’ve ever asked of me, after everything you’ve done for me, and yet I let you down”

“I’m going to leave you two alone now” Sebastian said, knowing his friends needed some space for themselves to mend whatever it was that had come between them. “I’m happy you’re feeling better, Killer” he said before bending down to kiss Blaine's cheek and leaving the room with a last encouraging smile towards Sam.

“So you really did it” Blaine said as he tried to sit up for their conversation, but when he failed due to his lack of strenght, Sam rushed to his side again and helped him.

“I did” Sam admitted as he once again let Blaine rest against his chest, knowing he was not strong enough to hold himself. “As I should have from the beginning”

“But I thought…” Blaine tried to say, still not understanding what had changed in so little time, but Sam didn't give him the chance to finish.

“I am in love with you, Blaine” Sam interrupted. “All this time I’ve been completely in love with you”

“Then why could you not admit it?” Blaine asked.

“I was afraid”

“Of… being with a boy?”

“No. I didn’t care about that, Blaine” Sam immediately denied with a frown, as if that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. “It was you, how was I going to be afraid of that?”

“Then?”

“It just… admitting I loved you or letting anyone else know about it… it just made it too real” Sam tried to make himself understood, even if his reasons seemed so ridiculous after everything that had happened. “And in a world like this, where is so easy to lose people… I was afraid of giving you my heart completely because if I lost you, I knew I would never survive”

“And what changed?” Blaine asked, beginning to understand Sam's reluctance to accept their love.

“I did lose you” Sam confessed, his eyes getting glassy with unshed tears even if he tried to avoid it. “And not just because how ill you’ve been, but for a good while we thought you’d been bitten. You can't even understand how it felt... You were doomed and… that’s when I realized that not admitting I loved you hadn’t changed a thing. I had given my heart to you anyway and I was going to die with you anyway”

Sam's voice broke and it was all Blaine could do not to start sobbing with him. Sam's sorrow was so real and honest that if he still had any doubt that his love for him was real, it vanished in an instant.

“And the only thing I could think about was how I had failed you, how I had been hurting you instead of making you happy as you deserved and it was all for nothing, because I wasn’t protecting neither one of us anyway” Sam continued while furiously wiping the tears from his eyes.

“I’m here now, Sam” Blaine answered, catching one of those tears himself with a gentle thumb, hating to see the man he loved so broken.

“And I need to tell you, and I will tell you every day of our lives, no matter how long or short they are: I love you, B. I love you so much” Sam desperately said as he carefully embraced Blaine's body to his chest, hiding his own face on the crook of Blaine's neck as he tried to stop the sobs shaking his body.

“I love you too, you big dork” Blaine answered as he kissed the side of Sam's head in gratitude, all the resentment and anger from the previous days totally forgotten.

“I'm sorry, I didn't want you to see me like this, you need to focus on your recovery” Sam apologized as he broke the embrace to look at him, though he kept Blaine in his arms as he felt completely unable to let go of him.

“Don't be silly, Sam, you're so important to me, and I want to be here for you too” Blaine asnwered.

“As you've always been” Sam said with a grateful smile.

“And I will always be” Blaine promised.

“Come on, you should be resting” Sam jockingly amodnished him as he gently made him lay on the bed again.

“Lie here with me, please” Blaine begged, in a very serious need to continue in direct physical contact of the person he loved –and who know he could say loved him in return.

“You need your rest” Sam argued, though Blaine could see he wanted it as much as he did.

“So? Rest with me. I… I’ve so missed your arms around me” Blaine insisted, and he couldn't almost hide a triumphal smile when he heard Sam sigh and the rumble of sheets that indicated he was complying with his request.

“Well, you’ve had them around you a lot lately, you were just not conscious to appreciate it” Sam joked as he carefully positioned himself to spoon the shorter boy again, even if both knew it was a defence mechanism against the pain he had endured for the last hours.

“Well, I am now”

“Then I’ll hold you until the end of time”

“I’m going to hold you to that”

“Good” Sam said with a promising kiss to the back of Blaine's head.

 


	21. Chapter 21

Sebastian laughed even before he fully opened the door to the office after knocking to ask for permission. He could hear those two idiots arguing from outside, though by the tone of their voices he could easily guess they were just joking.

“Will you keep still? I’m going to cut you if you keep moving like that” Sam admonished his boyfriend as he knelt at his side with a razor in his hand.

“Oh my God, Sam, you’re like the worst shaver ever!” Blaine loudly protested, though by the wide smile shining on his face, it was easy to see she was having a good time in spite of everything.

“Well, excuse me, but it’s not like I do this often on faces that are not my own!” Sam replied as he gave Blaine’s face the finishing touch and he sat on his heels to admire his work –and Blaine’s beauty, while he was at it.

“What is this? Spa session and I was not invited?” Sebastian joked as he made his way into the room and sat at Blaine’s other side, carefully so as not to spill the soup he was carrying in a bowl.

“Lucky you” Blaine answered, smirking at Sam as if to provoke him.

“Can you believe this vain prince couldn’t possibly do with a little stubble for a couple of days?” Sam added with a tone full of fondness, and Sebastian’s heart warmed at how at ease and happy his friends seemed now that they were together and Blaine looked like he was going to be fine.

“It was more than a little, and it itched!” Blaine protested with a pout, brushing his fingers across his chin as if satisfied at how soft it felt now that the stubble was gone.

“And since he can barely move or even hold his own head, guess who was elected as the man for the job” Sam sarcastically added, grateful for once at Blaine’s lack of strength because he was sure he would have slapped him by then if he could –even if playfully.

“Well, you’ve been shaving yourself for a long time now, I trusted you to know how to do it!”

“I know how to do it on myself! No one is constantly moving and complaining when I shave myself!”

“Well, you did a good job in the end” Blaine praised him in a tender tone, which immediately softened Sam’s expression until he could only smile goofily at him and join their lips together for a quick peck.

“Aw, aren’t you two… disgusting?” Sebastian commented, even if they both knew he was only joking and that he was happy for them.

“We’re not, we’re adorable” Sam contradicted him before giving Blaine’s lips another kiss, just to prove his point. “I tried to convince him that he looks just as pretty as ever with a beard, but he wouldn’t listen”

“Don’t call me _pretty_ ” Blaine protested, though the blush on his face made it quite obvious that he actually liked it.

“Come on, Killer, did you know that five-clock shadow just made you all the hotter?” Sebastian joked in a flirty tone.

“Now, don’t you get too carried away, Smythe” Sam warned him, and even if Sebastian got scared for a second he had crossed the line, soon he realized that the blond was only joking.

“Shush, I will never say no to some flattering” Blaine told his boyfriend.

“I will live that to your sweetheart, just in case he decides to kill me” Sebastian answered, and he couldn’t help but to chuckle when Blaine blushed at the _sweetheart_ mention, even if Sam didn’t seem bothered by the title at all. “I brought you some soup, by the way. I guess it’s time for you to start eating something”

“I’m not hungry” Blaine unsurprisingly refused it, but of course Sam was having none of that.

“Well, you’re going to eat anyway” Sam intervened, with no trace of joking in his voice this time. “You can’t have those medicines on an empty stomach. Plus you need all the energy you can get to make a full recovery so come on, I won’t take no for an answer”

“Wow, he’s strict” Sebastian joked, hoping to create a lighter atmosphere again so Blaine wouldn’t feel cornered and blatantly refuse.

“I know! Who would have thought?” Blaine answered playfully, grateful at Sebastian’s joking.

“He’s right, though” Sebastian added in a sympathetic tone. “I’m not leaving until you’ve emptied this plate”

“You are ganging up on me” Blaine protested with a pout that only served for Sam to chuckle fondly at him.

“Yes, we are, so come on” Sam ordered as he put a hand behind Blaine’s back to gently lift him up and added an extra pillow between him and the headboard, so he was practically sitting up and it was easier for him to swallow –the last thing they needed was for him to choke, on top of everything.

“I can’t possibly eat anything, my stomach is closed” Blaine insisted.

“You’re going to have to open it, then” Sam replied, and Blaine could see how much practice Sam must have had with dealing with his little siblings along the years by how he was not relenting even one bit.

“I don’t think I can even hold the spoon” Blaine tried a last desperate attempt even if he knew it was already a lost battle.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll feed you” Sam answered with an annoying smirk as he took the plate from Sebastian’s hand and held it on his own lap. “Just think of how sweet that will be”

“I can’t win with you two, right?” Blaine protested, looking judgingly at the other two.

“Right” Sam agreed while trying hard not to laugh at Blaine’s indignant expression as he held the full spoon in front of his mouth. “So come on, open your mouth”

Blaine sighed and finally obeyed, feeling slightly embarrassed that he had been scolded like a little kid and that, in top of that, he had to be fed as if he was a weak kitten. But then he remembered it was Sam who was feeding him, the man who had confessed he loved him more than anything in the world and who had been taking care of him since he got injured, and suddenly it wasn’t embarrassing anymore. Even if Sebastian was still smirking at him as if he found the situation very funny.

“Why does my whole body hurt?” Blaine asked in frustration after a couple of spoonfuls, realizing he had not been joking when he had said he wouldn’t even be able to hold the spoon himself, considering he was already tired of just sitting up. “It feels like I was given a beating”

“That’s probably from the blood loss” Sebastian answered in a casual tone, glad to give him some distraction in the form of conversation while they finally got some nourishment in the smaller boy.

“And the fact you fell from a first floor, don’t forget that” Sam added, looking seriously at his boyfriend. “Even if the rubbish skips mostly cushioned the fall, it still was bound to leave some bruises. Your whole body is full of them, you’re kind of a purple mess”

“When did you give my body a full check-out?” Blaine suddenly asked, and it wasn’t until Sebastian let out a hearty laugh that Sam understood he was only joking.

“Shut up, I didn’t give you a full check-out, I was trying to make sure there were no more injures to worry about” Sam blushed in spite of himself, realizing how much he sounded as if he was trying to make excuses even if he was being totally honest.

“So thoughtful of you” Blaine answered, giving Sam a wink to make sure he understood he was only pulling his leg.

“Hey, can I make sure there are no more injuries too?” Sebastian asked, and Sam marveled at the chuckle that comment elicited on him, as only a couple of days ago it would have made him enrage with jealousy.

“Over my dead body, Smythe” he answered good-naturedly before turning to his boyfriend again. “And don’t you try to distract me, you’re eating this whole bowl or I’ll give a good spanking to your perky and delicious behind”

“You sound just like Tina” Blaine laughed, not noticing the dramatic change in the atmosphere of the room at the mention of their friend. “Hey, and where is she, by the way? I’m surprised she’s behaving and hasn’t been here all over me yet. She’s usually worse than you two put together”

Sam looked gravely at Sebastian, as if trying to wordlessly ask him for advice about how to deal with that situation. He couldn’t believe he had not realized until then that Blaine still didn’t know about one of his best friend’s death, the girl he had considered almost a sister. He couldn’t lie to him, obviously, but was Blaine strong enough to deal with a broken heart? He was still so weak and fragile… He couldn’t afford to lose the will to fight.

“Are you afraid of her being too intense and you’re keeping her away or what?” Blaine asked, still trying to joke even if he could already sense there was something going on –he hadn’t missed the look the other two boys had exchanged.

“Well, she’s been busy, she…” Sebastian wanted to lie, almost as scared that the news would be too much to take for Blaine on his situation, but Sam rested a hand on his arm and shook his head at him to stop him: they couldn’t lie to him like that.

“Blaine…” Sam started even if he couldn’t possibly find the words to say something that he knew was going to devastate the boy he loved, and he set the bowl of soup aside knowing he would need to give Blaine his full attention.

“What’s wrong?” Blaine asked apprehensively, his gaze changing alternatively between the two boys until finally stopping on his boyfriend’s –the person he trusted the most in the world, so he knew he wouldn’t lie–. “Sam, what is it?”

“Tina didn’t make it. In the attack” Sam said kind of abruptly, knowing there was absolutely no way to make it easier anyway. “I’m so sorry”

“What?” Blaine asked in the softest voice, as if he was afraid to hear the answer. “Sam, don’t joke with something like that”

“I wish I was joking, B” Sam answered, his heart aching for his boyfriend as he gently removed some stray curls from his forehead.

“Tina is… dead?” Blaine repeated, needing to make sure, and Sam realized he didn’t want to believe it.

“I’m afraid so” Sam answered as his hand moved to cup Blaine’s cheek in a comforting gesture.

“No” Blaine answered, moving his face away from Sam’s touch, refusing a comfort he wasn’t ready to accept –because that would mean accepting that Tina was dead–. “No, Sam, no. She can’t be dead”

“I’m so sorry, B” Sam insisted, not giving up on his need to help Blaine somehow so this time he slid closer to him and put his arms around him in a close embrace –careful not to touch the still tender wound on his shoulder–. “We couldn’t help her”

Blaine didn’t refuse Sam’s touch this time and let himself be engulfed in his embrace, though he still didn’t reciprocate it. Sam didn’t mind it, though, and just held Blaine’s head to his own shoulder so he would know he was not alone and that he was there for him. But Blaine was still not reacting, and Sam worried that he might be going into shock or something.

“How did she die?” Blaine asked, and Sam was glad that at least he was talking. “Did the walkers…?”

“No, no. She was shot. She never felt a thing” Sam rushed to explain, knowing it was the only comfort he could offer.

That finally made Blaine get out of his stupor and his whole body started shaking on its own accord. Making a great effort because he hardly had any strength, he was able to lift his arms enough to reciprocate the hug Sam was offering, even if more weakly, and he buried his face in the crook of the blond’s neck, the only place he could feel mildly safe at the moment.

Even if no sobs were coming out of him, Sebastian could see how really upset his friend was, and he thought the wisest thing to do would be to give him some privacy with the boy he loved, knowing he was the only one who could give him some comfort in a time like that. And judging by the strength Sam was holding him with, comforting Blaine was clearly the only thing in his mind, Sebastian noticed as he tenderly squeezed Blaine’s shoulder in support for a second and then he left the room.

Blaine was shaking so much that for a moment Sam worried that he was going to break his wound open, but there was nothing he could do about it apart from offering all his love and strength to him. He couldn’t believe he had not realized about Blaine’s lack of knowledge of Tina’s death until now, but he had been so worried about his survival that he had left everything else aside. But he should have known that, next to Mike, Blaine would be the most affected of them all because of his close friendship with the girl.

Of course Blaine was also thinking about Mike, because as soon as he recovered the ability to talk, his first words were to ask about the other boy.

“How’s Mike?” Blaine asked, looking intently at Sam once the embrace broke with eyes full of sorrow, and Sam was not surprised at all that, even in those circumstances, Blaine first thoughts would be for someone else.

“He is… devastated” Sam admitted, not seeing the sense of lying –and knowing he would never, ever, be able to lie to Blaine, whatever the circumstances.

“I want to see him” Blaine pleaded in the softest voice, and Sam picked his hands in his –because even if he was surprised that Blaine still had to share a tear, it was pretty obvious how upset he was by the still present shaking, both in his body and his voice.

“No, Blaine, you can’t worry about any of that now” Sam begged him, terrified that such an emotional shock would have an adverse effect on his still fragile recovery. “You need to focus on yourself, you’re not out of the woods yet. Besides, he… he doesn’t want to talk to anybody”

“But I need to talk to him and tell him…” Blaine insisted, his heart going to him when he thought about losing the person you loved like that –if something happened to Sam…– but Sam interrupted him before he could dwell on those feelings too much.

“And you will, I promise you I will ask him to come and see you, but not right now. You’re still too weak and… I can’t lose you” Sam said, and when his breath caught up in his throat with a half sob. “Please, you need to eat something”

Blaine could only nod in agreement: he knew how painful it was just to imagine that something could happen to the person he loved. But Sam didn’t need to imagine it: he really had gotten to experience that when they thought Blaine had been bitten. And he wasn’t even near fully recovered yet, so Sam still hadn’t had a minute of peace since the attack. Of course all that was taking its toll on the boy, and Blaine decided he would anything in his power not to hear that kind of pain in Sam’s voice again.

Sam gave him a small smile when he saw Blaine was ready to continue eating –both because he would get the nourishment he so desperately needed and because he knew he was doing it without complaint only for him–, and started feeding him again. They both remained in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, and it wasn’t until Sam was giving Blaine the last spoonful that the first tear found its way down the curly-haired boy’s cheek. And Sam didn’t even have the time to leave the bowl on the floor and put his arms around Blaine before the latter broke on bitter sobs for his lost friend. And not even Sam’s warm and strong arms around him and his comforting whispered words in his ear could stop them for a while.

***********

Meanwhile life outside that little office that had become Blaine’s and Sam’s whole universe went on. Everybody tried to act normal, as if nothing happened, but there was a tension in the atmosphere that didn’t go unnoticed to any of them: they had lost Tina and Joe, Blaine wasn’t out of the woods yet and they didn’t have their beloved prison anymore. They didn’t feel secure anymore –much less in a simple house, when not even a prison had kept them safe–, and there was always someone furtively looking outside through the little cracks between the wood planks used to seal the windows, almost as if they were expecting any kind of danger to appear any minute.

“What’s wrong?” Artie asked when he noticed Puck remaining in one of those spots for too long, his eyes travelling all the way up and down the street.

“Nothing, I just… I don’t like this neighborhood” Puck answered, trying to sound cautious instead of terrified, as he was really feeling.

“I know it’s not the kind of people you used to befriend but…” Artie tried to joke, as they were staying in the fanciest neighborhood in all Lima, with very different lifestyles than what Puck usually frequented –even if their new world none of that mattered anymore.

“Hahaha, very funny” Puck answered with the hint of a smile at Artie’s poor attempt of humor. “I meant we are right in the outskirts of town… Everyone going in or out of the city must pass this way”

“And you’re not looking forward to encountering more people, of course” Jake added, suddenly understanding his brother’s worry.

“They scare me more than walkers do” Puck confessed turning to look at the other people in the living room. “Which won’t stop passing by either, by the way. I’ve counted like eight of them in the small while I’ve been watching through the window”

“And that is not by any means the only thing we need to worry about” Unique intervened, more seriously than she usually did.

“What do you mean?” Marley asked, looking worriedly at her friend.

“Well, who is going to be the first one to say it?” Unique asked in a slightly sarcastic tone, waiting for anyone to state the obvious. “We need supplies, and we need them now”

“Yeah” Puck admitted with a sad nod before turning to the window again.

**********

After Blaine calmed down from his breakdown, he claimed to be tired and let himself fall on their makeshift bed again, curled on his side and fell asleep almost immediately, his body and his mind exhausted after so many emotions. He didn’t even have the energy to ask Sam to lie down with him –or maybe he just wanted to be left alone for a while, Sam didn’t know–, so Sam was left only to look at him from the distance, though he rushed to tenderly cover him with a blanket so he wouldn’t go cold. After that, all he was left to do was to kiss his forehead and watch him sleep, hoping he would be feeling better when he woke up again.

Searching for something to do with his free time, Sam thought about reading the book Sebastian had forgotten there the day before, but his dyslexia made it so difficult that he didn’t think it was worth it –and he had never liked reading anyway, not like bookworm Blaine, he thought with a fond smile–. Looking around the room, he noticed there was a wooden old chair in one of the corners that didn’t really go with the rest of the furniture. Maybe it was there for sentimental reasons, Sam didn’t know. What he did know was that he could give it a better use than just gathering dust.

Careful so as not to wake his lover, Sam got up and easily lifted the chair from the floor –as it wasn’t that heavy– and turn it around to see the bottom of it. He was glad to see it was indeed old and pretty battered, so pulling the legs out of it wouldn’t be too much of a problem. That way he would have four wooden pieces he could easily sharpen with his machete. And then they would have four more weapons to replace some of the ones they had lost in the attack. He didn’t know if they would be of much use –apart from being adequate to be embedded on walkers craniums–, but at least it would keep him occupied.

He sat next to Blaine again to start working on the wood, not wanting to stay away from him longer than necessary in case he woke up and decided that he indeed wanted Sam to hold him. But even as he worked, his mind wouldn’t stop functioning for a second. How he had not thought about telling Blaine about Tina’s death he would never know. But if he had to be honest with himself –and he was quite ashamed to admit it–, with Blaine’s injury and then his infection and everything, Sam had completely forgotten about the girl’s death. And about how it was going to affect his boyfriend, considering how close he had been to the girl.

And then there was their current situation, which Sam knew was far from ideal. Being in a house was not as safe as the prison, and even that had ended terribly. He had convinced the others to wait until Blaine was completely recovered before trying to find something else –or travelling, as they had decided–. But how long was that going to take? He was so weak from the blood loss that he couldn’t even hold his own spoon to eat, and the ever-present fever –even if not as high as the day before– in him showed he had not beaten infection yet. It would take days, maybe weeks, to be in a reasonable state for him to travel, and that considering everything went well and he was able to beat the infection. And Sam wasn’t going to let him even move from the bed even one minute before that. He had been too close to losing him, he didn’t think he could do that again.

But how much time could they stay there? With hardly any supplies, no security and surrounded by walkers? How long until they were attacked again? And if all that was not enough, they couldn’t count on two of the guys who had lead them the most until then: Blaine, because of his injuries, and Mike, who still had to speak a word on his own initiative since Tina died, and who seemed to be getting further and further away from then with each passing moment even if he was at the same room.

His heart heavy with sorrow, he thought about what Tina would be thinking if she saw them right now. If she saw how the two people she loved the most out of them were hurting. Knowing her, she would already be in action to do something about it, as she was always the first one to help, like when Mike had almost complied with his father to forget about his dancing passion and Tina had applied to that prestigious school for him, or when Blaine had not wanted to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance because of the dark memories it brought to him and she had taken him herself and made sure he was alright.

So yeah, he owed it to her to at least try. He couldn’t help Mike right away because he had specifically asked him to leave him alone until he had dealt with his emotions himself and was ready to talk, and he needed to respect his wishes –he would make sure to remind him he was there for him if he needed him every now and then–, but he could do something about Blaine. Blaine was his boyfriend now, the love of his life, and he knew how much Blaine loved him back and trusted him. If there was someone who could hold his head above the surface until he was strong to swim on his own again, that was Sam. Because Blaine needed all his strength to recover. And he wasn’t going to let him fall into despair.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a soft knock on the door, and not even a second after that, the door to the office silently opened.

“Hey” Sebastian whispered as he poked his head around the door.

“Hey” Sam answered, raising his gaze and smiling politely at his friend.

“Is he asleep?” Sebastian asked, still in the softest voice just in case, and his heart broke when he looked at the sleeping boy and noticed the dry paths of tears on his cheeks, which told him how upset he was about the terrible news he had received that day.

“Yeah” Sam answered, looking fondly at Blaine’s sleeping form while unconsciously caressing the back of his head.

“Think you can come out for a minute? There are some important things to discuss” Sebastian asked, feeling awful about asking Sam to leave Blaine alone, but those were some important matters and Sam should have a say in it –both in his name and Blaine’s.

“Sure” Sam answered after a small hesitation, also not wanting to leave Blaine alone but knowing Sebastian wouldn’t ask him to if it wasn’t important, and then he bent down and kissed Blaine’s temple in a tender gesture that made Sebastian smile. “I’ll be right back, love”

Sam let himself be guided to the living room by Sebastian, where all of their friends were obviously waiting for them for some kind of meeting, sitting around on the couch, the mattresses or simply on the ground.

“Hey, Sam” Puck immediately greeted his friend, whom he hadn’t seen since the day before due to his caring of his injured boyfriend. “How’s Blaine?”

“Not too good” Sam answered with a sad sigh as he let himself fall on the couch near to Trend in a defeated gesture.

“Did he take a turn for the worse?” Trent immediately answered, obviously worried for his friend.

“No, physically he’s doing as well as can be expected, I’m sorry I scared you” Sam rushed to explain, aware that he might have given them the wrong impression. “He… he just found out about… Tina” Sam hesitantly explained, looking pointedly at Mike. “He asked for you”

“Ok” Mike answered shortly, and Sam could see he would have pretended not to hear him if he wasn’t so polite.

“He would like to see you” Sam insisted, feeling the need to reinforce the fact that Blaine not only wanted to know how Mike was, but he also wanted to see him to give him his condolences himself.

“So what did you want to talk to us about?” Mike asked as he turned to Puck to avoid answering to Sam, but Sam could see the sorrow in his eyes and he didn’t have the heart to insist anymore. Once again he was reminded of how close he had gotten to be in Mike’s situation, and he probably wouldn’t want to talk to anybody either –especially someone who had also been shot but had survived… maybe he resented Blaine for living when Tina didn’t?

“Well, as you can imagine we hardly have anything to eat anymore” Puck explained, apparently taking the lead now that it was so desperately needed. “We were lucky we found some canned food on the pantry, but even that is reaching a critical point”

“We need to go out” Unique added. “I can’t do any more miracles. We need food now”

“So are we talking about an expedition outside?” Artie asked in a worried tone. Nobody had forgotten what happened the last time they ventured outside for supplies and Ryder didn’t make it back.

“We have no other choice” Puck answered with a frown, as he wasn’t dying to go outside either. “So I’m going, and I’ll need a few of you to bring everything that we can”

Practically everyone started volunteering to accompany Puck –the time to be scared and let the others do the work had already passed for everyone, and their cruel reality had taught them how to fight already–. Sam’s heart broke at the idea of staying inside, safe and warm, as the others put their lives in danger for everyone, but he knew he had no alternative: there was no way he could leave Blaine alone when he couldn’t even defend himself.

“Guys, I’m so sorry, I would love to go with you, but…” Sam tried to apologize, but Puck wouldn’t even hear of it.

“But you have to stay here, Sam, we understand” Puck interrupted him as he lay a comforting hand on his shoulder, knowing that in any other circumstances he would be the first one to go. “And someone like you needs to stay anyway, to make sure Blaine and Artie are safe”

“I know, but still…” Sam said, knowing that Puck was only trying to make him feel better.

“And you would be worrying about him all the time anyway if you came, so you wouldn’t be of much help” Puck insisted with a smile that Sam couldn’t help but reciprocate, so glad he was that Puck –and everyone else for that matter– had accepted his relationship with Blaine so easily.

“Be sure to come back” Sam warned him and Puck embraced him in a rare demonstration of affection that Sam gladly returned.

“We will” he promised in an embarrassed tone after letting his emotions shown that again made Sam smile fondly at him. “Mike, you’ll stay too, just in case?”

“Sure” the other boy answered, sounding as if he didn’t care much either way.

And with no goodbyes, the party –that included absolutely everyone except Blaine, Sam, Artie, Mike, Sugar and Unique– was gone.

**********

Sam stayed in the living room with the others for a little while, not wanting to leave them the whole responsibility of keeping watch now that there were so few of them, but all of them could see how he was dying to go back to his lover to make sure he was alright so they insisted that they could do it without him until he let himself be convinced and made his way back to the office.

Everything was completely silent when he opened the door, but the different sound of Blaine’s breathing seemed to indicate he was not sleeping anymore, even if his posture hadn’t changed one bit since Sam had left.

“Sweetie?” Sam whispered, just in case he was wrong. “Are you sleep?”

“No” Blaine answered, his voice equally soft even if he was not afraid of waking anybody up.

“You want to talk?” Sam offered, desperately seeking for answers as to how to help his boyfriend while resuming his place at his side.

“No” Blaine answered, his body still unmoving and unresponsive to Sam’s gentle caresses on his arm.

“You okay?” Sam asked, even if he already knew the answer, as his hand did its familiar comforting gesture of moving Blaine’s curls away from his forehead.

“Yeah, it’s just… my shoulder hurts so much” Blaine answered with a shaky voice, shocking Sam to no small extent: of course he understood that Blaine’s wound had to hurt like the devil, but it was the first time he complained or admitted it since he got shot.

“Ok, that’s it, you’re taking some of the painkillers Sebastian brought for you and that’s final” Sam sternly replied as he got up from Blaine’s side and retrieved the bottle of pills that Sebastian had left there in case Blaine changed his mind about them and a glass of water and returned to Blaine’s side.

“Ok” Blaine answered as he submissively let Sam raise him enough to drink and give him the medicine. And that just made Sam see how upset he really was, that he would surrender so easily without any kind of fight. But at least that way he would be relieved of some of his pain, so Sam wasn’t going to say anything about it. He just wished there was also something to lessen the pain in his heart.

Because if there was something that terrified Sam was that Blaine would stop fighting to live.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Blaine asked, and it wasn’t until he did that Sam realized he must have been staring at him.

“I’m scared, Blaine” Sam confessed, not feeling the need to beat about the bush with Blaine –if there was something they had always been able to do, that was opening their hearts to each other unreservedly.

“Of what?” Blaine asked in confusion. Of course their current situation made them live in permanent fear, but what was Sam referring to?

“Of… this” Sam answered, awkwardly signaling at Blaine’s defeated posture. “Of you just… losing the will to fight. And you still need to fight so much…”

“Sam, please” Blaine begged for Sam to understand, wanting to reassure him, hating that he was giving him even more reason to worry about him. “I just need to be a sad for a while, Tina was like a sister to me. But I’m not giving up”

“You sure?” Sam asked, wanting to make sure Blaine really meant it.

“Of course. I’ve got you now to fight for” Blaine said, even managing a small smile as he weekly raised a hand to Sam’s cheek and caressed it, making Sam reciprocate the smile with his tender gesture. “And I’m not going to waste the chance to survive that Tina never had. I owe both of you to live, and I’m going to”

“Ok” Sam relented, more than a little relieved that Blaine was aware of his worries and that he had no intention of giving up.

“But still…” Blaine’s voice broke before he could even begin to explain how he was feeling, but Sam didn’t need any words to understand and hurried to put his arms around him and bring him to his chest in a strong embrace.

“Schhh” he tenderly shushed his boyfriend, his hands getting lost in the wildness that were Blaine’s curls and he comfortingly graced his scalp with the tip of his fingers. “We’re going to make it, you hear me? You and me, together. We’ll be alright”

Unable to speak in fear of breaking into sobs again, Blaine only nodded in agreement and relinquished in the warmth and security that Sam’s body provided, and he only sighed deeply when Sam rested a long kiss on his forehead.

“You should get some sleep” Sam’s whispering voice sounded close to his ear, almost as if he was trying to lull him to sleep. “You still need to recover your strength. I’ll bring you something to eat when you wake up from your nap”

“Ok” Blaine finally answered, closing his eyes in an attempt of keeping his tears at bay.

“Do you want me to stay or…?” Sam asked, thinking that maybe Blaine needed to be alone for a while –after all, Sam had been all over him since the attack, he wouldn’t blame him for needing a bit of space.

“Please, stay” Blaine answered, almost begging, unconsciously nestling even more closely to Sam’s chest and gluing his face to the left side of it, hoping that way he would get to hear the reassuring and calm sound of his boyfriend’s heartbeat and be reminded him that Sam was still there for him, that he was alive and that he loved him.

“I was so hoping you’d say that” Sam answered with a relieved smile –he couldn’t imagine being away from him in a time like this–, before getting more comfortable on the bed himself and squeezing Blaine even more strongly to his chest, if that was even possible.

Silence fell between them for some time, though it was not awkward or strained this time, but comfortable and reassuring. Both of them were aware of the other’s love and understanding, and it wasn’t until Sam’s hand moved to Blaine’s soft curls once again that the latter’s defenses were finally broken down and he couldn’t help but to confess his most inner thought to the man he knew would always understand.

“We were both shot” Blaine said, almost in a whisper, afraid that his voice would break if he dared to speak any louder. “Why did I survive and she didn’t?”

“I don’t know, love” Sam answered, talking against Blaine’s skin as his lips moved to kiss his temple. He should have imagined, he had heard about survivor’s guilt before, and Blaine had the biggest heart… He wished he could give Blaine some answers, anything that could make him let go of that irrational guilt, but he couldn’t. The only thing he could do was to remind him how loved he was. “But I’ll thank the universe every day that you did”

“I love you so much, Sammy” Blaine confessed with a broken voice as he buried his face deep in Sam’s neck, and the latter could feel the moisture of his silent tears against his skin. “I need you to know that”

“I love you too, B, and I’ll never again hesitate to tell you” Sam promised as he shed some tears himself at his lover’s pain. “I love you more than you can imagine. And we’re going to make it. I promise”

And even if he could still feel Blaine’s tears dampening his skin, the confident nod Blaine gave was enough to give Sam’s heart a bit of peace.

**********

It was getting more and more difficult to get supplies, as most of the shops and the supermarkets they found in their way had been looted already, which also gave them the evidence that they were not the only survivors around –something they couldn’t decide if it was good news or not–.

They were already out of Lima before they found what seemed to be an untouched supermarket, in the neighboring town of Fort Shawnee. Santana parked the bus –which was dangerously getting low on gas– in front of the shop and everybody yelled and celebrated with happiness when they entered and found it completely full of provisions. Of course there was a rotten smell in the air from all the perishable products that had already expired, but even that could not alter their spirits as they started taking everything they could carry and got it on the bus, while Marley and Trent kept watch outside, guns ready, in case some walkers –or people– decided to join the party.

As she was taking all the tuna cans she could manage between her hands, Santana saw a movement from the corner of her eye behind one of the fridges, and she let everything fall to the ground to take her gun from the waistband of her trousers and point it at the stranger.

“There is someone there!” she yelled, her voice full of fear, but before she could react, the man behind the fridge made a run towards the exit, clearly afraid for his life after having been discovered.

Unfortunately for him, Puck stopped his advances when he intercepted him before he could reach the door and also pointed his gun directly at the stranger’s forehead.

“Hold it up, Mister! You’re not going anywhere” Puck said in a threatening tone that didn’t give the stranger more options than to obey.

“Look, I am not looking for trouble, I was already here when you arrived” the man, probably on his late twenties or earlu thirties and with a thick and disheveled beard that told them he had probably been on the road for some time, answered while holding his hands up in surrender. “I’ll just take a couple of things and be out of here before you know it”

“Wait, I know you from somewhere” Puck said as he looked more closely at the stranger, trying to imagine him without his slovenly state to know where he had seen him before.

“He looks familiar indeed” Brittany said, also looking intently at the man.

“What’s your name, dude?” Puck asked, his weapon not lowering an inch even if he could feel that the man was not a real threat.

“My name is Cooper Anderson” the stranger answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! If you know me from tumblr you already read this there, so just ignore it. If not... I need your help! I'm getting a bit stuck with some parts of the story. I know what I want to happen in the drama-relationship part of it, but I need ideas for “adventures” so I can add more action again. Places to go, disasters to happen… Not really what can happen to the characters personally, but a general idea of what could happen in their universe.
> 
> I’m a little stuck in that area, and I wouldn’t want to leave the fic before it’s finished, but inspiration isn’t coming to me!
> 
> So if you want to help me I’ll be really really glad! :)
> 
> Thank you all in advance!  
> And I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	22. Chapter 22

“Anderson?” Marley asked in confusion.

“Oh my God, of course, you are Blaine’s brother” Puck exclaimed with a smile, finally remembering that seminar Blaine’s brother had given the members of New Directions more than a year ago.

“You know Blaine?” Cooper asked, in astonishment that those kids seemed to know him and his little brother. “Have you seen him since…?”

“Yeah” Puck answered, his heart warming at the fact that those brothers, who clearly loved each other very much, were close to reunite again.

“Is he… alive?” Cooper asked, and there was so much fear in his voice that all the hearts in the place went to him –and Puck couldn’t be happier about giving such good news to someone who very obviously needed them.

“Yes, he’s living with us in a house in Lima, not that far from here” he explained with a reassuring smile.

Cooper breathed deeply a couple of times, as if he was trying to will his heart to start beating again. Then he covered his mouth with shaking hand and closed his eyes tightly, and before the others could react, he broke into heart wrenching sobs that resounded all around the shop.

“Hey” Sebastian kindly offered as he rested a friendly hand on his shoulder and squeezed it in a reassuring way. That man was Blaine’s brother, after all, and it was very obvious that he had missed his brother just as much as Blaine had, so he already saw him as family in a way. “It’s okay now, you’ve found him”

“I have been trying to reach him the entire time” Cooper explained when he opened his eyes, though he still couldn’t stop the flow of tears. It was quite clear that the older brother had also had a hard time as he searched for his brother.

“Then your efforts weren’t in vain, buddy” Sebastian assured him, and his heart felt a million times warmer when he was able to elicit a small smile on the older man.

“And he is okay?” Cooper asked, and Sebastian’s face changed so drastically that Cooper immediately realized it was not going to be so easy. “Please tell me he is okay”

“Well, he was wounded pretty seriously a couple of days ago, shot on his shoulder” Sebastian was forced to admit, but he rushed to reassure the other guy. “But he is slowly recovering. He’s a strong bastard”

“Shot? But will he be okay?” Cooper insisted, resisting the urge to grab on Sebastian’s arms and shake him to get all the information out of him.

“We hope so. He is surely fighting after the wound he received” Sebastian answered, not wanting to lie to Blaine’s brother, but not wanting to scare him too much either, before a warm smile broke on his face all of a sudden. “Oh my God, he will be so happy to see you, he’s missed you so much”

“Can you take me to him, please?” Cooper pleaded, and Sebastian didn’t have any doubts he would have fallen on his knees to beg if it had been necessary.

“Sure, of course” Sebastian answered in a tone that belied how absurd the question was: there was no way he would deprive Blaine of getting his beloved big brother back. “You’re Blaine’s brother. You’re one of us now”

“We just need to get everything we can carry into the bus and then we’ll get going, dude” Puck confirmed, also glad about Cooper’s appearance and about what it would mean to Blaine.

“I’ll help you” Cooper said without hesitation as he turned around to grab some things to carry himself: the sooner they finished getting everything in the bus, the sooner they could leave –and the sooner he could finally reunite with his brother.

**********

Sam was sure Blaine had been sleeping for a while now, but the little whimper that escaped his lips all of a sudden alerted him that it was not the case and, on top of that, there was something wrong with him.

“B, you okay?” Sam immediately asked, looking down at Blaine’s face, lying on his chest, while he caressed the curls on the back of his head.

“Yeah, I’m... just so… cold” Blaine answered, and he was shivering so intensely that he wasn’t able to say a whole sentence in a row.

“I know, it’s pretty cold in here” Sam answered, though he worriedly rested a hand on Blaine’s forehead to check his fever and was immensely relieved when he could feel it didn’t seem to be any higher. “You’re very sensitive to the cold at the best of times, I guess you will feel it even more in your weak state”

“I’ll be…alright, don’t… worry” Blaine tried to reassure him, even lifting his face to offer a smile, but he was shaking so badly that it turned out more like a grimace that of course didn’t fail to break Sam’s heart.

“Maybe we could light up the fireplace” Sam offered, knowing it was not the smartest idea, but he hated so much seeing Blaine in so much discomfort that he would do anything to make it better.

“No, the… smoke would be… seen from… outside and we don’t want to… bring that kind of attention… to ourselves” Blaine objected, unsurprisingly, as he had the same thoughts that Sam had –even if the latter would gladly ignore them if that meant making his terrible shivering stop.

“We are in the middle of the night, Blaine, it’s dark enough so nobody will see it” Sam tried to convince him, even though he knew how stubborn Blaine was –especially about their security, and if it included putting everyone at risk just for his sake…

“They will if they… are near enough and I’m not risking everyone’s… life just for my comfort” Blaine stubbornly insisted, and Sam couldn’t blame him for it even if he hated it.

“I can’t stand seeing you like this” Sam answered with a defeated tone.

“I’m okay, Sam” Blaine tried to reassure him, but the increasing shivering of his body only helped Sam to worry even further.

Desperate to do something to make his lover feel better, even in the slightest, he lifted Blaine’s upper body until he was sitting up and wrapped him up completely with the thickest blanket they had.

“What are you doing?” Blaine asked with an amused smile, not even trying to stop Sam from doing whatever he wanted with him, so completely he trusted him.

“I’m making a burrito out of you” Sam answered while he worked, his heart warming instantly when Blaine chuckled at his poor attempt of humor.

Once he was confident that Blaine couldn’t be more tightly wrapped –only when Blaine was absolutely incapable of moving– he was satisfied enough to sit against the wall and have Blaine rest against his chest, so he could throw the rest of the blankets over them and devotedly rub the arm that wasn’t against him to try and get some warmth into Blaine.

“Does this make it any better?” Sam asked, his voice full of hope.

“Much better, thank you” Blaine answered in a heartbeat, and Sam didn’t know if he was being honest or just trying to stop him from worrying, but at least his shivering seemed to have diminished a little and the contented sigh he let go as he nestled up to Sam’s chest seemed honest enough.

Sam didn’t stop rubbing on Blaine’s arm long after the latter had managed to fall asleep even in spite of the cold –and Sam felt immensely proud that he had been able to help about that, because he hated to see Blaine in so much discomfort–. He thought he should probably get some sleep too, but he couldn’t bring himself to relax. Maybe it was absurd, or maybe he was being unfair, but knowing Artie, Sugar and Unique were the ones keeping the fort together right then didn’t make him feel they were completely safe –and yeah, he knew Mike was there too, but could they honestly count on him on his current state?–. After all, a walker had been very close to get Blaine with a full house, how could he be sure nothing was going to happen when only the worst fighters of them all were there to protect them?

Sam felt bad about thinking that way about his friends, but Blaine was his main priority right now and it was up to Sam to make sure he was safe, considering he was still too weak to fight for himself. And if that meant losing a bit of sleep… Well, so be it. He would sleep again when he knew Sebastian, Puck, Kitty or Santana were there to take care of things. And that way, he could remain sitting, holding Blaine in his arms and rubbing his sleeping form to keep him warm so he would rest easier and continue his still incipient and frail recovery. It was the least he could do for the boy that loved him so much –and that he loved so much in return– and who had given so much to keep him alive since the whole ordeal started. He owed him that and much more.

And if keeping a gun in his hand to be able to react quicker if it came to that made him feel safer, so be it. He would do whatever it took to keep his boyfriend safe, he promised himself as he kissed Blaine’s forehead and squeezed more strongly to his chest.

**********

It wasn’t much later that the supermarket was already practically empty, after they had taken absolutely everything that could come handy to them –mostly food, although they also took hygiene and cleaning products, knives, tools, and everything they could think of–.

“Ok, so I think we’re ready” Puck announced when there was absolutely nothing else to take. “And we won’t even have to unload everything at the house if we intend to keep travelling”

“Travelling?” Cooper asked in confusion.

“We don’t think staying put it’s the best solution anymore” Puck explained. “We tried that and it didn’t end well. We want to make sure this is everything there is before giving up, so we thought we’d start moving. As soon as Blaine is well enough, of course”

Cooper gave up a contented sigh, his heart already warming to those youngsters who seemed to care so much about his brother that they were willing to put their plans on hold for as long as it was needed just to wait for him to get better. And he was about to thank them when he saw a movement from the corner of his eye.

“Careful!” he shouted as he took a katana out of a case on his back and cut the neck of a walker that was about to attack Kitty in one swift movement before anyone else had had the chance to move.

“Wow” Brittany exclaimed once they were able to react. “That was… impressive”

“So the action-hero gene runs in the Anderson family then” Sebastian said, nervously laughing at what had almost happened.

“Ok, confess, that weird obsession Blaine has with superheroes is because you both are Iron Man’s sons or something like that, right?” Santana joked and she was glad to finally elicit a little smile on the serious older man.

“Don’t be ridiculous” Cooper answered, blushing slightly at all the appraisal, though the others could see he was shyly happy about it. “Let’s get going before more of those decide to join the party”

**********

Sebastian smiled fondly at the older man, sitting in front of him on the bus, who couldn’t stop tapping his foot nervously on the floor as his hands clutched the seat in front of him. It was quite obvious he was in kind of a state, and Sebastian felt incredibly happy for his friend Blaine and how loved he obviously was by his big brother, who could hardly wait to see him.

“Impatient?” Sebastian warmly asked, and he was glad that he could elicit the smallest smile on his friend’s brother.

“I can’t wait to see him” Cooper confessed as he turned slightly back, as he could feel he could trust this tall guy who also seemed to care very deeply about his little brother. “Even more now that I know he’s hurt. I need to make sure he’s okay”

“He’s a stubborn little bastard” Sebastian answered with a fond chuckle, trying to stop the older guy from worrying too much. “He’s not going to surrender so easily. And even if he did, we wouldn’t let him, you know”

“So you’ve all been taking care of him?” Cooper asked, clearly intrigued about what those guys meant to his brother, as he rested against the window of the bus so he could look at Sebastian and keep a comfortable conversation.

“Well, more accurately he has been taking care of us until two days ago, when he got shot” Sebastian explained, wanting to give Blaine the credit he deserved.

“My brother?” Cooper asked, only mild surprised –after all, no one knew how much of a fighter Blaine was.

“You should have seen him, he was perfect throughout the whole ordeal. He always knew what to do” Sebastian explained, obviously proud of his friend. “But yeah, we’ve been taking care of him in return since then. Especially Sam”

“Sam? Blaine’s best friend?” Cooper asked in total confusion, remembering about the last time he had spoken to his brother on the phone just before everything started and how devastated he was about his best friend being in the hospital. “So he’s not in a coma anymore?”

“No, and he’s alive thanks to Blaine. They make a great team indeed. Sam hasn’t moved from Blaine’s side for a second since he got injured” Sebastian answered, revealing more than he had initially intended.

“Oh, hasn’t he?” Cooper asked, raising an eyebrow in amused surprise.

“There was no way to get him away from Blaine… They love each other so much…” Sebastian continued with a dreamy smile, still unaware of how much he was babbling out.

“Oh, geez, I’ve surely missed quite a bit” Cooper exclaimed, and it was only then than Sebastian realized he had put his foot in it.

“Oh, shit, I shouldn’t have told you that” Sebastian apologized, his face full of terror about what he had just done –and hoping his friend would forgive him for it–. “Blaine should have told you that, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay” Cooper answered with a chuckle, deciding he already liked that clumsy friend of Blaine’s. “I’ve known about Blaine’s feelings for this Sam guy for a long time now, even if he never really told me. If anything, I’m just glad they are reciprocated. And if Sam is taking such good care of my brother…”

“He is” Sebastian rushed to agreed, glad that his mistake didn’t seem to be so bad. “I know he would gladly trade places with him if it was possible”

“Then I don’t think I have anything to worry about” Cooper reassured Sebastian with a couple of pats on his shoulder and then turned again towards his seat, anxiously biting his nails. He couldn’t wait to see his brother for himself.

**********

Santana parked the bus in the exact same place from before –with a worried shake of her head at how little gas they had left– and everybody stood up to start deciding what they should be taking inside and what would they leave in the bus. Including Cooper, even if the only thing he wanted was to run inside and embrace his brother until the end of time, but he was too polite and grateful to those guys to just avoid helping them. Fortunately for them, Puck seemed to read his mind and of course took pity on him.

“Why don’t you take a couple of these boxes and come with me inside?” Puck suggested as he pointed at the nearest supplies he could find, picking a pair of boxes himself. “I’ll take you to your brother”

“But…” Cooper tried to protest, not wanting for them to believe he wanted to shirk, but the others only snorted fondly at him.

“Don’t be silly” Puck insisted, even pushing him towards the bus’ steps so he wouldn’t have another option than to walk. “We can take care of that”

Puck knocked on the back door of the house with the special code they had agreed on so the people inside would know it was them when they came back, and it was Sugar who opened the door for them only half a minute later.

“Hey” Puck greeted her as he gently pushed Cooper inside and signaled towards the interior of the house. “The kitchen is right this way, we can leave those boxes there”

Cooper shyly smiled at the girl looking at them in surprise before he obeyed and started walking towards the kitchen. He was very aware of three other sets of eyes fixed on him as he passed by the living room on his way to the kitchen, but he thought he’d leave the explanations to Puck.

“Mmm…” Artie murmured, trying to break the ice without sounding too harsh. “Are you going to introduce you to our new friend?”

Puck waited until both him and Cooper had left the boxes safely in the kitchen before answering, and he put a hand on Cooper’s shoulder to bring him back to the living room for the mandatory introduction.

“As a matter of fact you already met him last year” Puck explained with a smirk. “This is Cooper Anderson”

“Oh my God!” Sugar exclaimed as she jumped to embrace Cooper as if he was a long lost friend. “Blaine is going to be so happy to see you!”

“This is Blaine’s brother?” Unique asked, as she was the only one in the room who had never met Blaine’s brother because she was still not at the glee club that time he visited them.

“That he is” Puck answered with a happy smile as he turned to the older man. “And he is dying to see his little brother, so why don’t you go and lend a hand bringing the supplies in while I take him to Blaine?”

Puck didn’t wait to see if the others obeyed before he once again pushed Cooper in front of him, this time towards the office where he knew they would find the person that man had been looking for for weeks. Puck gently knocked on the door but, at hearing no answer, he silently opened it and couldn’t help but smile at the image that met their eyes.

Sam had finally succumbed to sleep, exhausted as he was after so much time taking care of Blaine, but even in his sleep, in which he hadn’t even bothered to lie down and was still resting against the wall, he was still holding the smaller boy to his chest with a ferocious grip, as if daring anyone to even look at him the wrong way.

Of course Cooper’s reaction was quite different, as just seeing his brother after so much time –especially thinking he might never find him– would have been enough to shake him, but seeing him so weak and so obviously unhealthy because of the paleness of his skin and the flush of his cheeks was the final straw that made Cooper’s eyes flood with tears that he didn’t even notice.

“I will leave you with them” Puck whispered comprehensively and left after a warm and friendly pat to Cooper’s back, wanting to give the brothers the privacy they so obviously needed.

Cooper entered the room slowly, trying not to make any noise so as not to scare the couple of youngsters awake –he very well knew how everyone was at their edge nowadays with all the danger surrounding them–. He couldn’t help but to smile through his tears at the way that his little brother was nestled to the other boys’ chest –Sam, he presumed–, and how the blond’s arm was keeping him there while the tip of his fingers were lost on Blaine’s hair. Whatever had happened between them seemed to be strong, and Cooper felt happy that at least something good had come out of so much tragedy.

But the time to talk about feelings and relationships would have to wait, as the most important thing right now was to recover his brother and made sure he was going to make it after receiving such a dangerous injury.

Cooper quietly knelt down next to his brother and his hand move on its own accord to fondly ruffle the curls lying on Blaine’s forehead. But he hadn’t even had the time to check his temperature when the boy holding his brother abruptly woke up and raised his gun to Cooper’s forehead in one swift movement.

“Whoa! Stop it, dude!” Cooper exclaimed, quickly raising his hands as a sign of surrender.

“What do you want?” Sam asked in a very scary tone, and Cooper would have been happy that his brother had gotten such a fierce protector if he wasn’t pointing his weapon at him.

“I just wanted to make sure he’s alright” Cooper answered, pointing down at his brother with his gaze, still not daring to lower his arms, just in case.

“Oh my God, you’re… Blaine’s brother, aren’t you?” Sam asked, realization spreading across his features once he was able to recognize him under his disheveled looks.

“Yes, I am, so maybe you could stop pointing that thing at me” Cooper sarcastically answered as he signaled at Sam’s gun, as he finally felt it was safe to lower his hands.

“I’m sorry, I’m terribly sorry, I felt someone moving Blaine and woke up in a panic” Sam immediately apologized as he lowered his weapon and left it on the floor.

“Just be more careful the next time” Cooper answered sternly, but his stance immediately softened as he saw the repentance on Sam’s face. “But since you were protecting my brother, I guess I can forgive you”

“I’m really sorry… though you should have made your presence known before trying to take him from my arms, you know”

“Then I’m sorry too”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Sam asked in amazement, not being able to repress a smile at the thought that the boy he loved so much was about to regain the brother he had missed so much.

“Believe me, it was a really long way” Cooper answered, and couldn’t stop a shiver at the reminder of the ordeal he had gone through to find his little brother.

“Oh my God, he thought he was never going to see you again, he’s going to be ecstatic you’re here!” Sam explained, unconsciously squeezing Blaine’s body more strongly to him with excitement.

“How is he?” Cooper asked more seriously, and Sam’s heart warmed with the tenderness which with he caressed his little brother’s flushed cheek.

“You know he was wounded?”

“Yes, your tall friend told me. And how you haven’t moved away from him since then” Cooper answered with a grateful smile towards the blond boy. “Which I can totally believe, judging about your little action from a minute ago”

“Sebastian told you that?” Sam asked, wondering how much the former warbler had spilled out about his relationship with Blaine.

“Sebastian is it? He told me a lot of things” Cooper admitted, looking amusedly at the blush quickly spreading across Sam’s cheeks.

“Oh” Sam exclaimed, almost wishing the ground would swallow him whole –not because he was embarrassed of Blaine or about the fact he was in love with a boy, but the fact that Blaine’s big and very protective brother was just finding out about them…

“I’m not going to reprimand you or anything for being with my brother, if that’s what you’re fearing” Cooper explained with a smile, taking pity on the younger boy. “You’re the famous Sam, right?”

“I guess” Sam answered, not surprised about the fact that Blaine would have often talked about him with his brother –after all, they were already inseparable a long time before they got together, right?

“My brother had been talking about you non-stop for weeks whenever I called him before… before everything happened” Cooper explained, and Sam couldn’t stop a small proud smile at that even if he tried to. “In fact, when you had that accident and you went into a coma I thought he was going to go crazy. I’d never seen him like that, he was totally beyond himself with worry when he called me, that’s why I was coming. It’s not such a big surprise to find him in your arms after all, you know?”

“I love him” Sam said with all the confidence in the world, which instantly warmed Cooper’s heart, glad that his brother hadn’t been alone all that time.

“I hope so” Cooper answered, but Sam could easily see he approved of their relationship –he just wanted to make sure he was the right one for his little brother, which was understandable.

“I’m going to take care of him, like he did with me” Sam insisted.

“I can see that” Cooper answered more warmly this time, once again smiling at the way Sam had yet to let go of Blaine or even lessen the grip he was keeping on him. “So are you going to tell me now how is he?”

“He’s doing a bit better, but it was rough, really rough, you know?” Sam gravely explained, involuntarily shivering at the reminder of how close he had come to losing him. “He’s still fighting infection. He still has a fever and is in quite a lot of pain, even if he won’t admit it most of the time. That’s why I let him sleep as much as he needs”

“And is that why he is a human spring roll right now?” Cooper asked with the hint of a smile.

“He was cold, he couldn’t sleep” Sam explained with an embarrassed smile.

“Maybe you should get some sleep every now and then too” Cooper answered once he had processed all the information, noticing the big bags under Sam’s eyes that said a lot about how much sleep he had been missing to take care of Blaine.

“I was sleeping when you came” Sam protested.

“Yeah, sitting up and holding a gun” Cooper contradicted him, trying hard not to laugh.

“I needed to look after him”

“Well, I’m here now so we can share the duty, ok?”

“Ok” Sam answered with a smile, almost unable to wait until he could see the expression on Blaine’s face when he saw his brother. “Aren’t you going to announce your presence to him or what?”

“Shouldn’t we let him sleep?” Cooper asked, even if he was just as anxious about hearing his brother’s voice as Sam was.

“He can sleep later. Seeing you… that will do him so much good” Sam explained with the widest smile even if his eyes were swarming with unshed tears. “He lost a very dear friend today, he needs to know you’re here now”

Cooper just nodded, very aware of how he was not the only one who had had it very difficult during the last weeks, and his eyes turned again towards his sleeping little brother. He smiled at how adorable Blaine looked like that, tightly cocooned in what looked like a thousand blankets and Sam’s arms, his curls loose and wild as he hadn’t seen them since Blaine was just a little kid. And Cooper’s eyes stung with the apparition of new tears at the thought that he was going to embrace him again.

“Squirt?” Cooper whispered as he gently shook Blaine’s arm, not wanting to scare the weak boy awake.

“What…?” Blaine said, still not having found the energy to open his eyes.

“Come one, Blainey, wake up, it’s me, Cooper” Cooper said with a shaky voice, hardly being able to handle the anticipation of how Blaine was going to react to his sudden presence there.

Blaine opened his eyes at the unexpected voice and fixed them on the man crouching in front of him. He almost looked like a homeless man, with the long hair and the dirty beard covering his face. Blaine was close to screaming for help, feeling threatened about that man’s presence in front of him, and only when he looked into his eyes he was able to recognize his beloved brother on that stranger.

“Coop?” Blaine asked, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Yeah, that’s me” Cooper answered with a watery smile as he moved to unwrap Blaine’s upper body from the blankets that were imprisoning him, in a very real need of hugging him.

“Are you real?” Blaine insisted as one of his hands weakly moved to touch Cooper’s face, as if he needed to touch him before allowing himself to believe his brother was really there.

“Pretty much, yeah” Cooper answered as the first tear made its way down his cheek and he covered Blaine’s hand with his own.

Without any warning, Blaine broke into tears and Cooper rushed to gather him into his arms, seeing as Blaine was hardly able to move, though he reciprocated the embrace as strongly as he was able as his entire body shook with sobs that his big brother tried to shush through some whispering in his ear while their tears mingled together. Sam felt tears coming to his own eyes at the scene, incredibly moved to see the person he loved so happy. Especially considering everything he had had to endure, both physically and emotionally, and on the same day he had lost one of his dearest friends.

“You’re alive” Blaine murmured between sobs, his voice muffled with the skin on his brother’s neck as he had yet to let go of him.

“I am” Cooper reassured him while lovingly rubbing his back in an attempt of calming him down –after all, he was pretty sick, all that display of emotions couldn’t possibly be good for him. “And yet I came here to find you close to not alive”

“How…?” Blaine tried to ask when he broke the embrace to look at his brother’s face, but he was incapable of finding the words to form a coherent sentence.

“I was coming to Ohio when all of this started, remember?” Cooper reminded him, perfectly understanding the question as his hand moved to the back of Blaine’s neck, half comforting, half meant to hold him up as he seemed to be too weak to do it himself. “I was coming to support my little brother, whose best friend was in a coma”

“And you were coming for me?” Blaine asked in amazement.

“Of course, you needed me” Cooper answered as if it wasn’t that big a deal. “But while I was on my plane I got a voice message from Mom, saying something awful was happening and how you weren’t home but at Lima, at the hospital with Sam, and that she was terrified that something would happen to you before they were able to reach you. Of course when the plane got diverted to Indianapolis and it landed there, hell had already broken loose, and I couldn’t reach Mom again, or you. So from then on I only cared about finding you. I’ve been looking for you all this time”

“I’m so glad you made it” Blaine said with a shaky chuckle as he embraced Cooper again and the latter gently kissed his temple.

“So… something tells me Sam is not just your best friend anymore” Cooper said with an amused smile, hoping for a lighter mood to give Blaine some respite from all the emotions before they could continue discussing other important matters, and only then Blaine realized he was still sitting practically on Sam’s lap and that the blond’s arm was still around his waist, holding him upright.

“Mmm… no, he isn’t” Blaine answered, deeply blushing as he looked over his shoulder and smiled tenderly at his boyfriend, who nodded at him and reinforced his grip on him in acknowledgment. “Are you?”

“No, Blaine” he answered, accompanying his words with a kiss behind Blaine’s ear in that spot that never failed to make him sigh –that time being no exception–. “We are so much more than that”

“Good” Blaine answered as he let himself fall on Sam’s chest again, obviously exhausted, though he took Cooper’s hand in his, still unable to break the contact with his brother as he turned to him. “I still can’t believe you’re here”

“I find it hard to believe I found you too” Cooper answered while holding Blaine’s hand between both of his, his voice still shaking with emotion. “But tell me, how are you feeling? Sam and Sebastian told me you had been seriously hurt”

“I was, but I’m okay now” Blaine answered all too quickly, and both Sam and Cooper snorted at that.

“B, not that I mind because I love having my arms around you, but do I need to remind you that I need to hold you up because you can’t do it yourself?” Sam jokingly said, chuckling again at Blaine’s obvious embarrassment.

“Ok, maybe I’m still a little weak” Blaine admitted.

“And feverish” Cooper intervened as even his hand was feeling warmer than usual.

“And feverish, but I’m much better than I was yesterday” Blaine answered, looking at Sam for confirmation and this time the latter could only agree.

“Alright, I’ll give you that” Sam answered with a contented kiss to the tip of Blaine’s nose. “And you will be even better tomorrow, you’ll see”

“Listen, Blaine…” Cooper started, hating to ruin the moment, but he needed to ask. “Do you know anything about Mom and Dad?”

“Cooper, they…” Blaine tried to explain, but he couldn’t possibly say the words. His hesitation, though, was enough to make Cooper understand.

“They’re… dead?” he finished for him, his heart on his throat.

“We don’t know that” Sam felt obliged to intervene because, even if Blaine had been convinced about their death from the beginning, the truth was they had never had any proof.

“When everything started, I was in that hospital and I stayed there for two weeks until Sam woke up. If they had been alive…” Blaine insisted.

“They would have come looking for you” Cooper finished for him, understanding and sharing Blaine’s reasoning.

“And… Sebastian and Trent told us Westerville burnt down and doesn’t exist anymore” Blaine added, his voice shaking again at the reminder that they very probably had lost their parents.

“We’ve talked about this hundreds of times, B” Sam intervened with a sad sigh, reinforcing his grip around the other’s chest to remind him how he was there for him. “That doesn’t mean they didn’t escape. A lot of people did”

“Well, whatever happened we’ll face it together, ok? I’m here now, little brother” Cooper said, trying to stay positive for his brother, protective urges striking with force as he once again pulled him out of Sam’s arms to wrap him in his.

“I love you, Cooper” Blaine whispered in the crook of his big brother’s neck.

“I love you too, Squirt” Cooper answered, feeling as if he was never going to be able to separate from him again.

“But you’re going to get rid of that awful beard soon, right?” Blaine asked, and it wasn’t until a couple of seconds later –and after Sam let out a hearty laugh– that he understood that his obnoxious little brother was joking.

“Shut up” he answered with his own chuckle as he squeezed Blaine even more strongly to him. And man, it felt good to hear him laugh again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, let me apologize in advance because I don't think I'm going to be able to update for a few weeks. It's a very difficult time at work right now, I'm very stressed and I'm not handling it or myself too well these days. I'm terribly sorry, but I literally don't have the time (or the energy) to write quick enough to post once a week. Plus I have to create the new chapters from scratch from then on (I don't have anything written yet), so...
> 
> Also apologies for the lack of action in the last chapters... But all these emotional scenes were a very important part of the story for me. The action will be back soon, though, and it will last for a bit, I hope!
> 
> And last, but not least, thank you all for your ideas! They will come very handy and you guys are the best


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, first of all, thank you all for your patience! I know it took me some time, but I'm over all the stress from work for a few days so I'm back! And hey, at least you get a pretty long chapter! I hope you're still interested in it and you enjoy it!

Blaine found himself unusually alone when he woke up the next morning, but he was only mildly surprised, as he knew Sam and he was sure his boyfriend was feeling kind of guilty about spending most of his time in the office with him and had decided to go outside and lend a hand around the house while he slept. And knowing Cooper, he was probably wandering all around the house trying to asset everything was as secure as it could be and throwing out a millions suggestions a minute until nobody could put up with him any longer. After all, they both were responsible like that, and Blaine was glad too that at least they could be of any help, even if he was only a burden to everyone those days.

Sighing in frustration at his weakness, he decided for once not to wait until somebody came and he tried to sit up on his own. It couldn’t be that difficult, right? Maybe he was not ready to run a marathon, but he could surely raise the upper part of his body and rest it against the wall, right?

But of course it wasn’t that easy: just lifting his torso enough to sit up was hard enough, but then sliding enough towards the wall so he could rest his back on the wall became a nightmare, as his body didn’t seem to want to cooperate. In the end he couldn’t fully sit, but perch on the wall in a slightly uncomfortable position, and he prayed that someone would come to his rescue soon or he would end up with a nice ache on his back.

His eyes filled involuntarily with tears for a moment when he remembered who was surely not coming to help him, and that was Tina. He still couldn’t believe they had lost her like that, without even having the chance to say goodbye. He remembered how she had cried after what they thought it was a real shooting at high school –what felt like a lifetime ago, instead of just weeks– and how she had told him that what hurt her the most about not being there with the rest of the glee club was not being able to say goodbye to him. And gosh, she was so right…

And then there was Cooper. Of course Blaine loved having him near; next to Sam, he was probably the person he loved the most in the world –and who loved him just as much, he knew that–. But Cooper being there… meant someone else to worry about. At least when he thought he was in Los Angeles he only wondered if he was in danger. Now he very well knew he was. And Blaine didn’t think he could go on if something happened to his beloved big brother.

He was interrupted before he could dwell more into the loss and the fear when the door to the office started opening and Blaine hurried to dry his tears, knowing it was Sam before he could even see him, as he was the only one who would enter without knocking first. And he didn’t want him to worry about him more than what he already did. Like all the time. And Blaine was so happy to see him anyway that he didn’t really need to feign the warm smile he gave him when he finally appeared around the door and that was instantly reciprocated.

“Hey, you’re sitting up!” Sam exclaimed with the happiest voice as he rushed to kneel at Blaine’s side so he could put a pillow between him and the wall.

“And you don’t know how hard that was” Blaine lamented, though he couldn’t help but to smile in gratitude as Sam grabbed him under the armpits and pulled him until he could fully recline against the wall –apparently he didn’t need to tell Sam what he needed for him to know, he realized with a chuckle.

“You could have waited for me, you know?” Sam said while tenderly ruffling Blaine’s curls, and the latter could hear a bit of guilt in his voice.

“Sam, I can’t keep depending on you so much, as much as I love it” Blaine said, marveling at the proud smile his words brought to Sam’s perfect lips. “I need to start doing some things for myself”

“Maybe you should wait until you’re actually able to do them” Sam only half joked, as Blaine was sitting in the same exact position he had left him as if he didn’t have any energy left to move.

“You so love to know I need you so much…” Blaine replied, looking very satisfied of himself when he made Sam blush.

“I would deny it, but it’s kind of true, so…” Sam admitted embarrassedly, though he still rested a tender kiss on the top of Blaine’s head before sitting next to him. “Do you want me to bring you some breakfast?”

“In a while” Blaine answered, letting his head fall tiredly on Sam’s shoulder. “I just woke up”

“Alright, but you’ll be eating later, ok?” Sam threateningly said.

“I promise” Blaine easily surrendered –too easily, which made Sam wonder if there was something going on with him.

“You ok?” Sam asked, trying not to sound too preoccupied so Blaine wouldn’t feign everything was alright just to stop him from worrying.

“Just frustrated of feeling so weak” Blaine answered dismissively, and even though Sam knew that was true, he also knew there was something more to it.

“Only that?” Sam asked, knowing sometimes he needed to insist a little bit more and Blaine would reluctantly open his heart. Fortunately, that was one of those times.

“I was thinking about Tina” Blaine admitted with the softest voice, and Sam’s arm immediately closed around his shoulders so he ended up resting against the blond’s chest –his favorite place in the world.

“I’m so sorry, sweetie” Sam lamented with a kiss to Blaine’s temple. “I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better”

“You don’t have to do anything, love. I was not the only one that lost her” Blaine reminded him, as usual trying to lighten his pain so Sam wouldn’t worry too much.

“No, but we’ve had a few days to come to terms with it, while you just found out. And you were the closest to her, next to Mike” Sam reminded him, not wanting Blaine to lessen the importance of his pain. “You are going to miss her more”

“Did you ask Mike to come and see me?” Blaine asked, raising his face to look at his boyfriend’s, but the serious expression on the blond’s face gave him the answer he needed.

“Yes, I did, but… I don’t think he’s ready to talk yet” Sam sadly explained, avoiding to add how he thought Mike kind of resented Blaine for surviving because he didn’t want for him to hurt more than necessary. “But you know what? Forget about that now, he’ll come when he’s ready. We need to worry about you now, so what about that breakfast you promised you’d eat?”

“One second. I want to do something first” Blaine enigmatically answered, quickly awakening Sam’s curiosity.

“What?” Sam asked.

“I want to stand up” Blaine said in a soft voice, almost as if he knew the answer he was going to get and was afraid of even making the question.

“What? No” Sam immediately refused, and by the frown on his brow Blaine could see he really thought it was the dumbest idea ever.

“No?” Blaine repeated while he raised his eyebrows at his boyfriend, because when had their relationship evolved so much that Sam could tell him what –or what not– to do?

“No, it’s too soon” Sam denied again, avoiding Blaine’s gaze so he wouldn’t fall for the puppy eyes he was sure he was already giving him. “You just said yourself how hard sitting up was”

“But now you’re here, you can help me” Blaine insisted, his voice so full of hope that it was breaking Sam’s heart to have to tell him no, even if he knew it was the reasonable thing to do.

“No, Blaine, it’s not a good idea”

“Hey, since when do you get to decide about what I can or cannot do?”

“Since I became your boyfriend and the person that loves you the most around here” Sam answered with a tender but amused smile, knowing those were the exact words to melt Blaine’s heart –and especially because they were completely true.

“That’s playing dirty” Blaine expectedly answered with a mockingly annoyed sigh as he left a kiss on Sam’s chest, but he was not ready to surrender yet. “But come on, Sam, just for a minute, I’m going crazy lying down all day. I need to do something so I don’t feel so vulnerable”

Sam sighed in spite of himself, already knowing he was going to cave in. It was not just that it was extremely difficult to say no to cute little Blaine at the best of times –and him being injured and sad only made it all the more difficult–, but he could see that Blaine really needed to do it: he needed something to make him believe all his fighting wasn’t in vain, and that he was still strong enough to overcome any obstacle that tried to finish him off. Something to stop him from feeling so vulnerable and dependant –and Sam knew he was being patient enough, considering his very independent nature, and how he had hardly complained even if he needed help for absolutely everything–. Sam could see the pain in his eyes and the need to do something for himself. And he didn’t have the heart to deny it to him any longer, in spite of his better judgment.

“Alright” Sam finally relented with an exaggerated sigh, though just the impossibly wide smile Blaine gave him in response made it all worth it. “Now careful. You’re not in full health yet”

Of course Sam wasn’t going to let him do it on his own –he couldn’t possibly watch Blaine struggle and not do everything in his power to help him, it was physically impossible for him–, so he waited until Blaine put his feet on the floor from the mattress –and that seemed such a hard task that Sam was really close to telling him to forget it, and only Blaine’s determined expression stopped him from it– and once again he grabbed him under the armpits and practically got him standing himself.

Blaine looked like a newborn deer as he tried to hold his own weight once he was on his feet, so Sam didn’t really move too far from him for a second, even if he was not holding him up anymore. He felt like just scooping him up in his arms and keep him there, safe and protected, forever but he knew Blaine and he knew he needed to do it, so he could only watch and be there for him in case he needed him.

“You okay?” he couldn’t stop himself from asking when he noticed Blaine’s knees start to shake with the effort.

“Yeah, just… hold me” Blaine’s strained request immediately put Sam into action and he rushed to put his arms around his boyfriend’s smaller frame, supporting more than half his weight that way.

“You did it” Sam whispered into Blaine’s ear, not wanting him to feel like he had failed –he had stood up on his own, if only for a couple of seconds, after all!

“Yeah, I’m such a winner” Blaine sarcastically replied as he put his own arms around Sam’s shoulders and let himself be comforted by the warmth and the tenderness emanating from the taller boy.

Sam’s heart went for the other boy, whose sorrow and frustration were so real he could almost touch them, and before he knew it he was gently and carefully rocking their bodies together –while holding practically the totality of Blaine’s weight against his own body–, his lips resting a soft but meaningful kiss just above Blaine’s ear.

“What are you doing?” Blaine asked, his voice sounding a bit less painful than before thanks to Sam’s loving actions.

“I’m dancing. With my dreamy boyfriend” Sam explained as he intensified their movements to make it clearer they were pretending to dance.

“There is no music” Blaine playfully protested, and even if he couldn’t see his face because of their embrace, Sam could easily hear a smile on his voice.

Not wanting to break Blaine’s illusion in the slightest, he started softly humming _Heroes_ –the first song they ever sang together– on Blaine’s ear, soft and sweet, and synchronized their moves to it until he felt Blaine slowly melting into his arms.

“You are a dork” Blaine said with a chuckle, but there was so much fondness in his voice that Sam knew he had reached his goal of making him forget about anything that wasn’t them if only for a couple of minutes.

“I know” Sam answered, reinforcing his grip on Blaine’s body just to feel him closer to his chest before resuming his whispered singing.

“I love you so much” Blaine murmured after a couple of minutes, not wanting to break the romantic atmosphere his perfect boyfriend had created for him but needing him to know how much he appreciated it.

“I love you too” Sam answered with a fond chuckle, glad that he had made Blaine feel better.

“Please, never leave me” Blaine shakily pleaded, and Sam was sad to see he was not talking about their relationship ending or something like that, but about the possibility of Sam dying –something that apparently terrified him to the core.

“I’ll try my very best” Sam promised, knowing it was the best he could offer if he wanted to be honest, and his fingers moved to the back of Blaine’s head to entwine with the soft curls lying there, and then he decided to lighten the mood for his boyfriend’s sake. “By the way, with the whole apocalypse and everything I don’t think I have told you how much I love your hair like this”

“Come on, don’t lie to me” Blaine protested with a grunt, though Sam knew he was probably blushing at his appraisal. “It’s impossible that you like this mess”

“I’m not lying, I really love your curls” Sam insisted, carding his fingers through them to prove his point. “They’re so soft and cute. They make you look all the more adorable”

Blushing furiously and still not ready to leave Sam’s strong and perfect arms, Blaine closed his eyes to enjoy the moment more intensely, hiding his face in the crook of Sam’s neck to deeply breathe into his unique scent that never failed to comfort him in times of need, and they remained dancing in their embrace until a tired sigh escaped his lips before he could stop it and sent Sam into full protective-mode again.

“Are you tired? Should you lie down again?” Sam asked, obviously worried.

“I don’t want this moment to end” Blaine confessed, not being able to stop his voice from shaking, even if slightly, which made Sam squeeze him even more strongly to him, moved by the intensity of Blaine’s emotions.

“What about this: we lie down together and then I will hold you in my arms and we can pretend we are still dancing, even if it’s horizontally and without any real movement” Sam suggested, and his heart warmed to no extent when his words made Blaine laugh for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

“You’re so silly”

“Yeah, but you know you want to do it”

“You know I want to do it” Blaine admitted and for once he didn’t even protest when Sam started lowering him onto the mattress again until he was completely lying down, and then hurried to lie behind him so he could spoon him with a strong grip around his waist, in a position they both loved and that never failed to make them feel better.

“You okay?” Sam asked, worried that Blaine might have made too big an effort too soon.

“Yeah” he answered, and by the way he snuggled closer to Sam’s chest, the latter could see he was being honest. “Thank you for that”

“No problem, sweetie. I just want you to feel alright. You’re the only thing that I have…” Sam answered with a kiss to the back of Blaine’s neck, but something in his voice might have sounded a bit off because Blaine was immediately alerted that something was not right.

“The only thing?” Blaine repeated in confusion. “Sam, you okay?”

“Of course!” Sam answered, too quickly for Blaine’s taste.

“Sammy…”

“I’m okay, Blaine, you don’t need to worry about me”

“I know something is going on with you, and if you don’t tell me what it is I’m going to imagine like a million horrible things that are probably much worse than what it really is and worry so much more, you know” Blaine explained, glad when he was able to elicit a small chuckle from his boyfriend.

“You’re ridiculous” Sam said with a laugh, but Blaine could still see there was something bothering him, so he knew he had to keep insisting.

“Maybe, but I’m here for you too, you know. I’m not going to break” Blaine seriously answered, devotedly caressing the arm that was holding his waist until Sam couldn’t resist it anymore.

“Ok” Sam surrendered, knowing that Blaine was right: he was the strongest person he knew, he was not going to break just because Sam shared his worries with him. And he knew he was not going to rest until Sam told him, so… “I can’t stop thinking about what your brother said last night, how his flight ended up in Indianapolis and how this thing had reached that area too”

“And you’re thinking about Kentucky” Blaine finished for him with sigh, not at all surprised about Sam’s worries. “I know, I thought about that too”

“You did?”

“Yeah, I just didn’t want to say anything in case you hadn’t thought about it so I wouldn’t burden you with it, but… yeah”

“So you think…?” Sam started, but the question died on his lips before he was able to make it.

“No” Blaine quickly assured him as he used the last ounce of strength left in him to turn around in Sam’s embrace so he could look into his eyes and make him see he really believed what he was going to say and he was not just trying to make him feel better. “We know it’s a possibility, but we already knew that. But it changes nothing, maybe it won’t have spread so much to the south”

“Maybe” Sam agreed, though he didn’t sound too convinced.

“Come here” Blaine said, this time being him the one to go into a protective mood as he held Sam strongly to his own chest, wanting to provide all the comfort the blond boy seemed to need. “I know you can’t stop thinking about your family, and you worry about them, but look at you: you were in a coma and you’re alive”

“Yeah, because you kept me alive” Sam reminded him, very well knowing Blaine was the only reason he had survived that far, especially the first two weeks since everything started.

“I think you made a good job with that yourself” Blaine contradicted him with a fond smile as he gently caressed the blond’s long hair. “What I mean is they’re as strong as you are and they have each other: if you managed to survive, they probably did too. Even if this thing reached Kentucky, of which we honestly have no idea, they will take care of each other. They’ll be alright”

“You really think so?” Sam asked, his gaze full of desperation to believe what Blaine was saying.

“Of course” Blaine answered with a smile, just before tenderly kissing Sam’s forehead in a comforting gesture. “They’re Evans, aren’t they?”

“They are” Sam agreed with a reciprocating smile, even if his was a bit shakier.

“Then nothing can beat them”

“I love you so much” Sam said, his voice full of emotion before strengthening his grip around Blaine in a stronger and grateful embrace.

“I love you more” Blaine joked, glad that he had been able to help, even if in the slightest.

“No way” Sam answered, with no trace of joking in his voice as he looked intently at his boyfriend’s eyes as if he was mesmerized by them.

Sam slowly broke the distance between their faces and trapped Blaine’s bottom lip between both of his in a sweet kiss full of gratitude and love. But that was not enough for the shorter boy, and when Sam broke the kiss, he followed him and captured his lips in a deeper kiss born of love and need. They realized they had hardly exchanged more than a couple of quick pecks since before the attack at the prison, and suddenly it was as if they couldn’t get enough of each other, so Sam reciprocated the kiss with the same fervor as he tentatively entered Blaine’s mouth with his tongue and sighed into it at how good it feel to rediscover Blaine’s exquisite taste that he had missed so much.

They quickly got lost into each other’s mouths, and it wasn’t long before Sam was pushing Blaine into his back so he could climb on top of him, very careful so as not to let too much weight rest on him or touch his still tender wound. The slightly too warm temperature on Blaine’s soft skin reminded Sam that he was not in full health yet by any means, but as much as he tried there was no way he could stop himself from needing to feel him so intensely. Only when he started needing some air was he able to break the kiss, but even then he seized the chance to trace a path of kisses down Blaine’s throat, in that breathy and slow torture that he knew the smaller boy loved so much. And that time was no exception, Sam realized when Blaine loudly moaned before he could stop himself, but apparently he was feeling as needy as Sam himself and he gently pulled the blond’s hair to get him to go all the way up so they could join their lips together again.

Sam was just starting to unzip Blaine’s hoodie when suddenly the door opened without previous notice and Cooper entered the room as if he owned it.

“Oh my God!” Cooper exclaimed, covering his eyes with his hand as if the vision he had just seen had physically hurt his eyes. “Do either one of you know about the real meaning of convalescing and resting?”

Blaine loudly groaned as Sam abruptly climbed down from his body, but it was more from embarrassment and frustration than any real pain at the sudden movement. And besides, Sam’s cheeks were looking so red that he didn’t have the heart to reprimand him.

“And do you know how to knock?” Blaine protested while grabbing Sam’s hand in his to stop him from moving too far away from him –as it looked as if the blond boy was asking for the ground to swallow him.

“Well, forgive me if I wasn’t expecting to find my very little and young brother, who is at the brink of death on top of everything, sucking his boyfriend’s face like that” Cooper replied, half horrified, half amused at his not-so-little brother’s loving actions.

“I’m not at the brink of death!” Blaine loudly protested, very used to Cooper’s melodramatic side. “And now you know what to expect, so be a good brother and leave so I can snog my boyfriend”

“He’s right, B. You need your rest” Sam answered once he found his voice, deeply ashamed that he had gotten so lost in his urges that he had forgotten that Blaine was seriously injured –and, on top of that, he had been caught, by the boy’s big and very protective brother nonetheless!–. “I got a bit carried away, but I’m back to my reasonable self now and I know you’re not up to it, so no snogging for you, mister!”

“Uggh, you both are unbearable” Blaine complained as he took a pillow and covered his face with it in frustration, trying to ignore the other two’s hearty laughs at his suffering.

“Come on, stop being so grumpy and sit up so you can eat the breakfast I just brought you, you need some nourishment in order to recover” Cooper said, more seriously this time, while nearing the bed to leave the tray he was carrying on the floor to help his brother up.

And as much as he tried, Blaine couldn’t possibly stay angry at the two people helping him up with all the tenderness in the world. Even in a world like that, it still felt good to know he was so loved.

***********

“Puck, will you stop looking through that window?” Artie said, his voice a mixture of amusement and exasperation as they hung around the living room, waiting for Unique to call them for dinner the next day. After all, it had been pouring and thundering for the entire day, and none of them seemed to be in the best of spirits.

Puck sighed before turning around towards the interior of the house. He knew Artie was right, and he had been peeking through that window more than he was willing to admit since they arrived to the house about five days ago. But as much as he tried, he couldn’t bring himself to stop. Because if he had learnt something from the attacks both at McKinley and the prison, was that it was very dangerous to think they were safe just because they had a roof over their heads. Because they were never safe.

“Sorry” he half-heartedly apologized, even if he didn’t have a reason too.

“Are you still worried?” Jake asked his brother.

“Yeah” he easily admitted, since he knew protecting the others from the truth wouldn’t be wise in the long run. “There are more and more walkers gathering outside. I don’t know, maybe they can feel we’re near”

“That’s impossible” Jake tried to protest.

“Is it?” Puck tried to make him see. “Then how come there were practically no walkers around when we arrived, only some stray ones passing every now and then, and now there are dozens of them practically at our door?”

“Maybe it’s just chance”

“Maybe, but forgive me if I’m not that optimistic” Puck lamented. “I’d really like to get out of here as soon as possible. Smythe?”

“Yeah?” Sebastian answered, lifting his gaze from the book he was reading.

“You’ve seen Blaine more than us lately” Puck said, and Sebastian’s heart warmed at the fact that everybody seemed to acknowledge his blossoming friendship with the former warbler, having forgiven him about the things he had done to him in the past. “Do you think he is ready to travel?”

“No” Sebastian rushed to answer with a sigh, as there was no way Blaine would be strong enough so as to make it to the bus without help. “He just started standing up yesterday. Although if you ask him, he will tell you he is ready, so please don’t”

“Alright” Puck reluctantly agreed, and it was quite obvious that the waiting was frustrating him so much. “I guess we’ll have to keep waiting”

“It’s not like he is not trying” Sebastian tried to defend his friend against what he thought was almost an attack. “I mean he’s so weak he can hardly sit up on his own, yet he won’t stop trying to stand up and…”

“Sebastian, I know” Puck gently stopped him. “I know how stubborn the little guy is, and I know he would be driving the bus away himself if he could. I’m sorry if I made it sound as if I was blaming him. I wasn’t, at all. He got shot while saving Sam and me, after all, you know?”

“Alright” Sebastian easily accepted with a relieved smile. “You just sounded so… exasperated”

“Yes, but it’s the situation that frustrates me, not Blaine” Puck answered, reciprocating the smile. “We’ll wait as long as it’s necessary”

“Ok, guys, now that we’ve established that, can we please move to the dining room before the big dinner I prepared, consisting in opening some tuna cans, goes to waist?” Unique joked from the door, as apparently she had been listening to the conversation for a while but hadn’t wanted to interrupt.

All the youngsters spread across the living room started moving to follow the cook –or can opener, to be more precise–, except for Mike, who remained absentmindedly sitting on the couch as if he hadn’t even heard Unique.

“Mike?” Artie said when he noticed. “Let’s go grab a bite”

“Oh, I’m… I’m not hungry” Mike answered in the same deflated tone he had adopted since the attack.

“Mike, you need to take care of yourself and skipping meals isn’t going to…”

“I’m not skipping meals, Artie” Mike interrupted him, not wanting to hear his speech. “I’m just not hungry right now. I prefer to stay here on my own for a while. Maybe I’ll eat later”

Artie could easily see that, apart from not being hungry, what really was keeping Mike there was the chance to be alone for a while. After all, being imprisoned in such close quarters with so many people in his actual state couldn’t be easy, so Artie decided not to insist and give the poor guy the space he so desperately needed.

“Alright, we’ll save you some” Artie promised, though Mike barely heard him anymore.

Mike couldn’t understand why they had to try so hard. Everyone was always insisting for him to eat, to move, to talk. Even Blaine had asked him to go and see him when he couldn’t barely keep his own head up, according to Sebastian. Why was it so hard to understand that he didn’t want their compassion? That the sadness he could see in their eyes every time they looked at him was not helping him keep it together in the slightest? Than controlling his emotions was so exhausting that he hardly had any strength left to do anything else?

“Mike?” a slightly strained voice he hadn’t heard for days took him out of his reverie, and when he raised his gaze to meet the person behind it, he was shocked to see Blaine standing and walking up to him –though it was clear that it was Sam the one doing most of the work by the tight grip he was keeping on his waist and his arm as he helped him.

“Blaine!” Mike exclaimed, and his voice sounded unusually rough, probably because of the lack of use for the last few days. “What are you doing up? You shouldn’t be walking around”

“Well, you weren’t coming to see me, so it was the only alternative” Blaine explained with no trace of reproach in his voice while Sam carefully helped him down to the sofa, next to their older friend.

“I’m sorry, Blaine…” Mike tried to apologize, but of course Blaine wouldn’t even let him.

“Mike, please, don’t apologize, Sam told me how you took care of me” Blaine answered, and there was so much gratitude in his voice that Mike could really see he was not intending on reproaching him for anything –quite the contrary.

“I’m going to leave you two alone now. Artie said it was supper’s time anyway” Sam, who knew how important it was for his boyfriend to make sure Mike would be okay, said as he bent down to kiss Blaine’s cheek. “Call me if you need me, sweetie”

“Alright” Blaine said with a grateful smile as he watched his boyfriend go.

Silence fell between the two boys for a minute. Mike didn’t know what to say, and Blaine was trying to find the right words to get Mike out of his shell –after all, both Sam and Sebastian had told him the way Mike had been behaving– without sending him into the defensive.

“I’m sorry” Blaine started, looking intently at his friend and forcing him that way to look back at him, knowing he would understand it was his way of giving him his condolences.

“Thank you” Mike awkwardly answered, and Blaine was glad he had caught him unawares to talk or he was sure Mike would have continued hiding from him.

“And… I’m sorry I survived” Blaine continued with the softest voice –after all, Sam hadn’t been the only one suspecting that maybe Mike was having some trouble accepting that he had made it when Tina hadn’t.

“What?” Mike asked in genuine surprise.

“I get it” Blaine answered, and Mike was astonished that he didn’t look offended or upset even if he thought Mike didn’t want him to survive –only understanding. “I survived and Tina didn’t. It’s only human that you resent me for it”

“What? I don’t resent you for living, Blaine, I’m so glad you did” Mike answered, and Blaine’s heart warmed at the honesty behind his words.

“But… you never came to see me after I woke up, I thought…”

“Well, let’s say that seeing you struggling to survive wasn’t nice and it wasn’t helping me, but… that’s not the real reason I never went to see you”

“Then what is it?” Blaine asked, even more confused than before.

“You were Tina’s boo” Mike explained, though it still didn’t make any sense to the smaller boy. “You don’t know how much she adored you. And I know that feeling was reciprocated”

“It was” Blaine immediately agreed, swallowing the lump on his throat as he remembered all the precious moments he had spent with her.

“You’re the only one here apart from me that knew how great Tina really was” Mike continued, his voice shaking slightly even if he refused to break down. “And who really loved her. I know most people thought she was kind of a bitch because she got really passionate sometimes, but you and me knew how she really was inside. What a great person she was”

“We did” Blaine answered, trying very hard not to shed the tears he felt forming in the corner of his eyes –because it was about Mike; if Blaine was suffering about Tina’s death, he couldn’t even begin to imagine Mike’s pain. If something happened to Sam…

“So… I couldn’t possibly face you” Mike confessed with a hint of shame in his voice as he lowered his head to avoid Blaine’s gaze. “I knew I was going to break down as soon as I saw the pain in your eyes”

“Maybe… maybe it is time you break down, you know?” Blaine suggested, as Sam had told him how he been holding all his pain inside and had refused to talk to anyone until then. “You have the right to do it”

“I’m afraid that if I start crying, I’ll never be able to stop” Mike admitted in a shaky voice, sounding as if he was already losing the battle. Blaine didn’t know why that was: maybe it was because Mike knew Blaine loved Tina and he would understand; or maybe no one had tried hard enough, not really knowing how to approach the broken boy. But the thing was that Blaine was starting to break his barriers and he was not going to stop now.

“You will. I will make sure” Blaine promised while closing his arms around his friend in a close embrace, not faltering even when he felt Mike stiffen at it. “For you and… for her”

It only took a couple of seconds for Mike to crumple and he started crying while desperately clinging to Blaine. Blaine had to make a big effort not to start crying too, as Mike’s heart wrenching sobs and the way he was holding onto Blaine, almost as if he was afraid of falling if he ever let go, were really breaking his heart. But he didn’t. He just held Mike more strongly and didn’t try to stop his tears, as they had been held long enough.

“She was the love of my life” Mike lamented between sobs, his voice muffled with Blaine’s hoodie.

“I know” Blaine understandingly answered, acknowledging his friend’s pain as he discreetly wiped a tear from his own cheek. “And she loved you with all her heart”

“I don’t know how to live without her” Mike confessed.

“You’ll learn” Blaine promised. “We’ll find a way”

They lost track of time of how long they were like that, with Mike engulfed in Blaine’s arms crying his heart out as if he was never going to stop. Blaine thought he saw Sam at the door from the corner of his eyes for a second –he was probably checking on them to make sure they were alright or Blaine didn’t need anything–, but no one interrupted them.

“I’m sorry” Mike apologized once he started getting a grip on himself and was able to leave the comforting warmth of his friend’s arms.

“Don’t be” Blaine immediately answered, even offering a small smile to his friend so he would see how not only he wasn’t sorry about his breakdown, but he was glad that he had been able to be there for him.

“But I wet your hoodie” Mike insisted in embarrassment, pointing at the stain in Blaine’s clothes that his tears had provoked.

“It will dry” Blaine answered, fondly shaking his head at the taller boy.

“I think I’m going to have a bit of fresh air” Mike shakily said while he started getting up from the sofa, showing Blaine that he was still far from being ok, but at least he had taken a step on the right direction. “Do you want me to help you anywhere?”

“Oh no, I’m sure Sam will come and get me any minute now” Blaine immediately dismissed him –after all, he was still tired from the walk from the office, a while longer on the comfortable sofa sounded really appealing. “But be careful. And try not to get too wet, we don’t want you falling ill on top of everything”

“I’ll just sit on the backyard’s porch, away from the rain, don’t worry” Mike promised with the ghost of a smile before turning serious again to look intently at Blaine’s eyes. “And… thank you. I guess I really needed that”

“You’re welcome” Blaine answered. “Just… come back to us”

With a grateful nod and the smallest of smiles, Mike patted Blaine’s arm in agreement and finally left the room, for some alone time he so desperately needed after the emotional breakdown he had just experienced. And even if it had been so hard, at least, for the first time, he started believing he would make it.

Blaine watched him go with a sad sigh. He felt some progress had been done with Mike, although the older boy still had a long way to walk before he would start feeling alright and putting Tina’s death behind him. Blaine had to dry another stray tear from his cheek when he thought about his dear friend, and just the thought that he was never going to see her again, or laugh again with her or even share an embrace with her, was enough to make him want to scream and sob and pound the sofa underneath him. But he didn’t. Because Mike was the one really hurting, and he wasn’t going to selfishly take that from him. And because he didn’t want the others to see him breaking down and lose any hope they might have left. And because he didn’t want Sam and Cooper to worry about him more than they already did.

He breathed deeply a couple of times to control his need to break into sobs, and then he rested his head on the backrest of the sofa and closed his eyes, wanting to separate from a world that could make people like Mike lose the love of his life just like that, even if it was only for a second.

And it was like that that Cooper found him only a couple of minutes later.

“Hey, little brother, what are you doing here all alone?” Cooper asked as he entered the room, and Blaine suspected he had eaten in record time just to catch him alone so they could spend some quality time together –something they so desperately needed after so much time apart.

“Because Sam brought me here and I can’t leave on my own” Blaine joked with a smile that Cooper could see didn’t reach his eyes when the youngest brother lifted his head to look at him. “Hey, you shaved!”

“I know! Don’t I look handsome?” Cooper joked back while rubbing his own chin, trying to create a lighter atmosphere in his brother’s benefit.

“At least you don’t look like a homeless person anymore” Blaine answered with a chuckle.

“Isn’t that what we all are nowadays?” Cooper answered before he could stop himself, and he immediately regretted when he noticed the general mood fall again.

“I guess” Blaine answered with a shrug of his shoulders, the smile completely gone from his face by then.

“Mind if I keep you company for a while?” Cooper asked, feeling bad that he had made Blaine sad and wanting to make it better.

And he was relieved when Blaine only smiled warmly at him in response and patted the spot next to him on the sofa as an invitation for Cooper to sit on. Cooper immediately complied, and he was trying to find a joke to break the ice when a loud thunder resounded all along the room and Blaine practically jumped out of his skin.

“Are you still afraid of storms?” Cooper asked, noticing the paleness of his brother’s skin and the fear in his eyes that he couldn’t hide.

Blaine didn’t answer with words, and he nodded his head instead.

“Do you still need your big brother to make it better?” Cooper asked.

Blaine nodded again, and Cooper could only fondly chuckle and shake his head at him before he moved to sit closer to him.

“Come here, you squirt” he said as he opened his arms for his little brother to fall into his embrace, which he immediately did. “I always thought about you when a storm broke, and wondered how you would be dealing with it”

“Did you never think I could be…?” Blaine started to ask, but his brother didn’t even want to hear it.

“No” he denied immediately, shivering for a second at the possibility of Blaine not being alive and in his arms as he was right now. “That was never a possibility in my head. I couldn’t possibly function if I considered that an option”

Blaine’s heart warmed and broke at the same time at the unusual honest feelings of his brother, and he snuggled closer to him in gratitude.

“You need to explain to me how you are here. I still can’t believe you found me” Blaine asked, as he hadn’t had the chance yet to listen to the whole story.

“Well, it was the best luck of my life when I ran into your friends and they recognized me. Well, I guess I should take some of the credit for that, because my fame obviously preceded me”

“Yeah, I’m sure they rushed to ask you an autograph”

“Hey, I’m a big deal!” Cooper mockingly protested. “I’m the guy from the Free Credit Rating Today commercial”

“Of course, I’m sure all the walkers around will be very impressed at your achievements” Blaine sarcastically answered, but his face broke into a wide smile when he was able to make his brother laugh.

“No, but seriously” Cooper said, his stance turning all serious again as he readied himself to talk about his ordeal until then. “We didn’t know what was happening when the pilot of the plane said we were going to land at Indianapolis. And when we landed and I heard Mom’s desperate message about how hell had broken loose and how they couldn’t reach you… Of course we lost communication immediately, so we didn’t really know what the hell was going on. But it didn’t take us long to figure it out”

“Were you… attacked?” Blaine asked, his voice full of horror at all the perils his brother had to face until he arrived.

“We were. We lost half the passengers on that first day, maybe even more” Cooper added, and he was so absorbed in his own memories that he seemed to have forgotten he was not alone. “And the ones that survived had no idea of what we were doing, and we didn’t have anyone to inform us, because everyone had run or died. So we decided to start walking towards Ohio, which was supposed to be our destination anyway, to look for our families, as practically everybody had someone to worry about here”

“And… where are they?” Blaine asked, afraid to hear the answer, because for all he knew, his brother had arrived on his own.

“They died” Cooper explained with a half sob. “All of them, Blaine. Most of them didn’t know how to fight, and the ones who did died trying to help others…”

Cooper winced and had to stop for a second to take a deep breath; a second Blaine took advantage of to put his own arms around his brother and embrace him, hoping to offer some comfort this time. And by the way Cooper clung to him, he knew he was doing the right thing.

“I only managed to hang on because I so desperately needed to find you” Cooper continued, looking intently at his brother. “If it hadn’t been for you… I don’t think I would have found the courage to go on”

“And you’ve been alone since…”

“For almost two weeks now. Maybe I was just lucky, I don’t know, but after so many days on the road you learn how to protect yourself: which routes to take, the best hours to walk, how to kill those monsters without attracting more of them…”

“I can’t even begin to imagine what you’ve been through” Blaine lamented in a whisper, his heart aching at his brother’s suffering.

“Nothing you haven’t faced yourself” Cooper answered, fondly pinching Blaine’s cheek. “Sebastian told me about how you managed to survive and keep Sam alive for two weeks on that hospital, on your own. The horrors you had to see… that couldn’t have been easy either”

“No” Blaine admitted with an involuntary shiver, remembering those horrible days in which he didn’t know what was happening and he had to see so many people die while not knowing if Sam was ever going to wake up.

“And then… apparently you’ve been leading those guys all along since then” Cooper added, his voice full of admiration for his brother’s strength, especially for someone so young. “Sebastian spoke wonders about you, you know?”

“He is a good friend” Blaine answered, trying to diminish the importance of it because he felt Cooper was the real hero there. “And even if all that was true, I wasn’t alone. I had Sam and all those friends with me. You had no one”

“I have you now, and that’s all that matters” Cooper honestly answered, and he had to chuckle with tenderness when Blaine practically jumped into his arms again.

“I love you, Coop” Blaine said as he embraced his brother with all the strength that he was able to summon on his weak state.

“I love you too, little brother” Cooper answered before resting a kiss to Blaine’s forehead.

Silence fell upon them for some time, but it was a companionable one, a comforting one, in which they just sat side by side and relinquished in the feeling of being together again. Because even at times when they hadn’t had the easiest relationship around, they had always been able to relay in each other and they had forged a bond that had brought Cooper to travel alone for days just to find his little brother. And Blaine would never be grateful enough for that, he thought as he let himself perch slightly at Cooper’s side, almost too tired by then to sit up on his own.

“You look tired” Cooper immediately commented, trying not to sound too worried.

“Too long out of my cell for the first time, I guess” Blaine joked, turning to look at Cooper’s watch. “What time is it?”

“Oh, I don’t know, my watch doesn’t work” Cooper answered, looking amusedly at his watch too. “It stopped working weeks ago”

“Then why are you wearing it?”

“What do you mean, why? Who do you think gave this watch to me?”

“Oh my God, that’s right!” Blaine exclaimed with a laugh after looking intently at Cooper’s wrist for a couple of seconds. “I gave it to you for your birthday like a million years ago! It took me so long to save enough to buy it, even if it was a trinket”

“It was not, it was beautiful!” Cooper protested in a joking tone, though it was obvious how moved he was at the memory. “You were just a squirt yet you used your own money to buy it for me! You’ll never know how much it meant to me. It still does”

“Well, you were always my hero” Blaine admitted with no hint of embarrassment in his voice. After all, Cooper had always been his hero indeed, and telling him seemed like the right thing to do in a moment like that.

“And you made me feel like that” Cooper confessed, smiling fondly at the memory of that small curly-haired hyperactive child who thought his big brother was some kind of superman. ”I always carry it with me. It helped me having it close when I couldn’t have you”

“Gosh, Cooper, I’ve missed you so much” Blaine said as he took his brother’s hand in his.

“I wish I had been with you when you were injured” Cooper lamented, reciprocating his brother’s squeeze in their joined hands. “But at least I’m glad you were taken care of so well”

“I know… Sam is…” Blaine started trying to explain what Sam meant to him, even if he was very aware of how much he was blushing.

“A mother hen?” Cooper interrupted, joking in hopes of getting Blaine more comfortable to talk about his feelings for the blond boy.

“Well, yes, but I was going to say perfect” Blaine murmured embarrassedly, lowering his gaze so he didn’t have to see the mocking on his big brother’s eyes.

“Oh my God, little brother, you’re so screwed up” Cooper exclaimed, only half joking because he could see something in Blaine’s eyes that he had never seen before. Not even when Kurt was around.

“I know” Blaine admitted with a shy smile, glad to see that his brother seemed to approve of his relationship with Sam –not that it would have changed anything, if he had to be honest, but it was nice to know he supported him on that. “I’m kind of in love with him, you know”

“Yeah, I can see that” Cooper joked as he put an arm around his brother’s shoulders and playfully squeezed him strongly to him before turning serious again. “I wish you could have enjoyed something as wonderful as that in different circumstances”

“How are we going to get out of this one, Coop?” Blaine asked in such a small voice that it reminded Cooper of when he was little and he would run to him whenever he was scared about something.

“I don’t know, Blainey” Cooper answered with a sad sigh while his brother rested his head on his shoulder trustingly.

And it was like that that Sam found them some minutes later. Sam’s heart went to them and about how even if they were amazingly happy they had found each other alive and relatively unscathed, they still couldn’t get to enjoy it because the danger they were in. Sam could read Blaine’s eyes like an open book, and he could easily see the desolation in them, the loss of the possibility of imagining his brother safe and sound in the other side of the country instead of fighting for his life next to him. And he wished there was something he could do to make him feel better.

“Hey” Sam said to make his presence known, not wanting to intrude in the brothers’ privacy-after all, they had been apart for so long they were bound to have a lot to say to each other.

“Hey” Blaine answered with the widest smile that immediately reassured Sam that he was not imposing his presence.

“Am I interrupting something?” Sam still asked for good measure, even if he was already letting himself fall on the sofa, at Blaine’s other side.

“Actually yes” Cooper joked.

“Shut up, Cooper!” Blaine playfully reprimanded his older brother before turning to his boyfriend to give him his most tender smile. “Of course not, honey”

“Honey?” Cooper repeated with a sarcastic tone as he watched Sam smile impossibly tender at his little brother and take his hand in his to entwine their fingers together. “What are you, fifty?”

“Hey, leave him alone, I like it” Sam mockingly reprimanded his brother-in-law before turning to kiss his boyfriend. “I like him”

“Oh my God, I’d so tell you to get a room if we’d actually had rooms” Cooper commented with a laugh that was immediately reciprocated by his brother.

“We have them, they just don’t have any mattresses left” Sam reminded him, as all the mattresses were scattered around the living room and the dining room of the house, so everybody stayed on the first floor for their safety.

Blaine was about to speak when a nearer thunder was heard, which instantly made him sink further into his seat.

“Can you believe little Blainey is still afraid of storms, after everything he went through?” Cooper said, and Sam’s heart warmed at the fact that, far from mocking Blaine, his voice was full of admiration over his little brother’s courage.

“Well, we are all afraid of something. And I think that’s probably the only thing that scares him, so I guess we’re okay” Sam said with a fond smile before he surrounded the smaller boy with his arms and brought him to lie on his chest, hoping to make him feel more protected that way.

“Ha, I knew he was not going to side with you” Blaine triumphantly exclaimed, pointing at his brother to make more of an effect. “I told you, he’s perfect”

“You really said that?” Sam asked, unable to stop a smile from spreading across his lips at his boyfriend’s high opinion on him, especially when he noticed how adorably Blaine blushed about having been caught.

“You bet he did” Cooper agreed, mockingly shaking his head in frustration at the youngters’ cloying relationship.

“Even if we both know that isn’t true at all?” Sam asked, looking pointedly at Blaine as if to remind him how hard it had been for him to admit his feelings for the smaller boy.

“Speak for yourself. To me, you’re perfect” Blaine answered, his voice full of an adoration that spoke volumes about how forgiven Sam’s behavior before the attack really was.

“Oh my God, and to me you’re not even real” Sam answered, completely honest, as he captured Blaine’s lips in a sweet kiss.

Blaine smiled adoringly at him, making his heart beat a million times faster, but then another loud thunder resounded all around the room and Blaine turned to Sam for comfort, burying his face deeply on the crook of Sam’s neck.

“You know? When you think about it, this particular storm could come handy. I mean, maybe the lightning will roost some of those walkers” Sam joked, and he knew he had reached his goal when Blaine laughed in spite of himself.

“Oh my God, Sam, I love you so much” Blaine said between laughs as he put his own arms around the blond to embrace him in gratitude for his poor but adorable attempts of making him feel better.

But Sam didn’t even have the time to answer when the loudest sound, similar to an explosion, made them all jump off their skins.

“What was that?” Blaine asked, breaking the embrace to look alternatively at his boyfriend and his brother, searching for answers he knew he was not going to receive.

“I don’t know” Cooper answered as he stood up and walked to the nearest window to peek outside, trying to find something that justified a sound like that.

“Please don’t tell me we’re under attack again” Blaine whispered in a begging tone, and Sam could see he was speaking mostly to himself when he closed his eyes and lowered his face, but he still squeezed him to his chest and answered him, hoping to reassure him even if his own heart was racing with confusion and fear.

“We are not” he immediately answered as he glued his lips to Blaine’s temple in a kiss, even if he knew there was a possibility that he was lying to him.

“Guys, guys!” Brittany came running to them, her eyes wild with fear. “There is a fire on the porch and it’s spreading quick!”

“A fire?” Sam repeated, not being able to process the information that they were in danger –again– so quickly.

“I guess some lightning fell there, and the dry wood under the roof of the porch caught fire” Puck added as he arrived just behind her, followed by the rest of the group. “That was probably the noise we heard”

“Mike was there!” Blaine suddenly yelled, verging on hysterics at the thought of his friend getting struck by lightning as he grabbed Sam’s arms and shook him. “Mike was at the porch!”

“I was already inside, Blaine” Mike tried to reassure him as he reached the living room from the opposite direction. “It was close, but I was already inside”

Blaine let out a shaky breath of relief, but it was short-lived as everyone started throwing suggestions about what to do.

“Let’s try and put the fire out” Jake suggested.

“It’s impossible, it’s already too big for that” Santana answered in a grave voice.

“We all know what we need to do, and that is getting the fuck out of here” Puck exclaimed as he ran to the corridor to get a glimpse of the back door –and much to his dismay, the flames had already caught on the wooden door and the carpet inside.

“No” Sam immediately opposed, giving a quick look at the boy still in his arms. “We can’t go”

“Sam, I’ll be alright” Blaine intervened, knowing Sam’s reticence came from fear for him and his weakened state.

“No, it’s impossible, we need to find another solution” Sam insisted, getting more and more anxious by the second: he had needed to help Blaine out of the office and to the couch, how the hell was he supposed to survive outside?

“There is no other solution, Sam” Puck contradicted him, his words full of impatience at the precious time they were losing. “It’s already spreading inside, we don’t have time to convince you”

“Blaine can’t travel, he can hardly walk on his own!” Sam loudly protested, standing up to make more of an impression.

“Then we’ll help him” Sebastian honestly answered, as he knew everybody would give their best to help the injured boy who had guided them so much until then.

“Sam, I can do it” Blaine said from his place on the sofa, trying to sound resolute enough so Sam would let himself be convinced. “We need to go, and we need to do it now”

“But you can’t travel, you’re not strong enough!” Sam lamented as he turned to his boyfriend in what could be considered a state. “We haven’t thought enough, there must be another solution, we just…”

“Sam, look at me!” Blaine practically yelled as he stood up and grabbed Sam’s arms –trying not to show how hard it had been for him to do it on his own or Sam would never agree to leave the house, even if he was being irrational. “I can if you help me!”

The determination in Blaine’s voice and his strong stance as he stood in front of him finally convinced Sam that they didn’t have another option and that he could do it with his help. He cupped the back of Blaine’s head and, in one swift movement, he brought their faces together and kissed him for a moment, just to show him how proud he was of him.

“Ok, let’s go” he finally said as he threw Blaine’s arm around his shoulders to help him and turned to the others.

“We just have a problem” Cooper seriously answered before they could move. “The back door is the only exit that is not completely sealed. And it’s in flames right now”

And nobody moved a muscle as they realized how right Cooper was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for yet another slow chapter! But as you can see, the action is starting now, so just wait until the next one.
> 
> And oh, don't mind me if the lightning or the fire thing doesn't make any sense, I tried investigating if that could happen and couldn't find anything!


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, first of all, thank you again for your patience! I know it took me a bit longer than usual to update but well... Christmas holidays are a busy and stressful time, and I haven't been at my best either, so... The fact that I feel not a lot of people is interested in this anymore didn't help at all either to my already small motivation, so I have to apologize to those still reading this. So sorry!
> 
> Also, I guess most of you heard about Mark Salling's arrest and everything... I hope you can separate him from his character, and understand that Puck has nothing to do with it. I wondered about what to do with him, but he's an important part of the story and getting rid of him wouldn't make any sense. I hope you can all understand.

“Well, then we better start working quickly on unsealing other exits” Mike quickly took the initiative, surprising everybody for a minute as he had hardly spoken three words in a row for days. But maybe the fact that he had already opened up and faced his pain had helped? Or was it the danger of their situation? Whatever it was, they were glad to see the leader in him appearing again.

“You’re right” Puck immediately answered, looking worriedly at the smoke coming from the corridor and that was starting to dangerously fill the living room. “Where are the tools?”

“In the kitchen, maybe?” Marley replied, and didn’t wait for anyone to agree before she covered her mouth with the collar of her sweater and left the room in search of the tools.

“We need to protect ourselves from the smoke” Cooper warned the youngsters. “Find cloths and soak them into water to cover your mouths with them”

Cooper’s words took everybody out of their reveries and quickly got them into action. Sam only took a second to give Blaine’s lips a reassuring peck before flying away from his side at the couch to obey Cooper, leaving him there without knowing what to do. It was not in Blaine’s nature to stay still while others worked around him, but he was still too weak to do much or even to decide what to do. But he was still dying to help.

“I found them!” Marley triumphantly yelled as she came back to the living room, her hands full with the tool box she had been looking for.

“Let’s work on the windows as well as the main door, so we can leave through the first thing that gets open” Cooper urgently suggested, worried about the first coughs he was starting to hear on some of them because of the smoke –his brother amongst them. “We don’t have any time to lose”

Everyone who was not looking for rags and cloths to cover decidedly ran to Marley to grab something from the box that could prove useful to work, Blaine included. But he hadn’t been able to take more than a couple of steps away from the sofa that he felt a hand grabbing his arm and pulling him down.

“Stay down so you can breathe easier” Sam ordered him as he kneeled down and successfully was able to get Blaine to sit on the floor thanks to his weakened state.

“No, I want to help, I…” Blaine tried to protest, trying to disentangle himself from Sam’s grip to stand again.

“I don’t have the time for this!” Sam yelled at him before he could stop himself, leaving them both equally stunned with his unusual rage. But one look at Blaine’s eyes, full of confusion and pain, was enough to break Sam’s temper and he tenderly put the wet cloth he was carrying over Blaine’s mouth. “I’m sorry, love. Just cover your mouth with this and stay down until we go. Please”

“Ok” Blaine’s voice sounded so understanding and obliging and loving in spite of being muffled by the cloth that Sam’s heart melted.

“I love you” Sam reminded his boyfriend before he quickly kissed his forehead and fled before Blaine was even able to answer, and only Artie’s comforting squeeze on his shoulder –as he wasn’t able to help either– kept the curly-haired boy from going crazy with frustration.

“Shit, this is not coming off!” Puck grunted in frustration as he kept pulling on some of the wood planks they had used to seal the door. “Breaking the wood with an ax would be so much quicker”

“I think I saw one down in the basement when we first came here” Unique announced.

“I’ll go get it” Marley immediately offered herself, as she was aware that she was probably more useful that way, as she was not as strong as most of them and would probably not be able to get any work done anyway.

“No, the basement is too near the back door, you can’t risk going down there and then getting stuck because the flames blocked the entrance” Jake immediately opposed, worried about his girlfriend’s safety. “Why don’t you start packing everything you think we can carry with us? We’ll be leaving as soon as we can”

Marley sighed in frustration, but nodded in agreement and started doing what she had been told as the others worked on freeing them from their burning prison. She knew her task was just as important –they couldn’t leave without some of the things they had in the house, and once some exit had been opened they wouldn’t have time to start collecting them–, but it frustrated her not being able to help in more direct ways.

Just as it did to Blaine. Even if he knew it made sense for him to just wait for once and save his strength for the moment they would have to run, it pained him to a big extent to see his boyfriend, his brother and his friends working desperately to get them out of there while he just sat there, covering his face so he wouldn’t get any smoke on his lungs. Even Artie was doing more than he was, helping Marley in packing everything that could be useful once they were in the run.

He looked at Sam, patiently working on extracting the nails he had hammered the planks with only a few days earlier himself, and knew his boyfriend was distracted enough so he could leave the room undetected –hopefully Artie or Marley wouldn’t choose to stop their task in that precise moment so they wouldn’t see him either–. Not bothering to stand up, giving how hard that was and the fact that it would make it easier to be spotted that way, he got on his fours and crawled all the way out of the living room and towards the office that had become his and Sam’s room for the last few days, intending to also gather their own things to run.

He immediately noticed the change in the atmosphere, as the office was closer to the back door than the living room was, so there was a whole lot more of smoke there. Blaine for once did as Sam had asked him and stayed down, knowing the air would be a bit clearer there, and as quickly as he could he started putting everything he could think of in the backpack Sam had been carrying with him since their short stay at McKinley: clothes, bandages, his medicines, all some other medicines Sebastian and Trent had brought from the drugstore –as painkillers and different ointments–, their weapons; all those things he knew they couldn’t go without. He even took those wooden weapons Sam had designed from a chair’s legs, knowing they had lost a lot of their weapons in the prison attack so they could come useful.

A bout of bad coughing made him stop for a minute, draining the little strength he still had, and he realized he didn’t even have the cloth Sam had given him with him anymore. He let himself fall on the mattress for a second, his eyes involuntarily filling with tears with the stinging from the smoke and the fear of what was ahead of them: he had assured Sam he could do it, but wasn’t he exhausted already just from packing and trying to breathe through the smoke? What right did he have to slow everyone’s pace because he wasn’t strong enough? What right did he have to have Sam or Cooper risking their own lives to help him, because they loved him too much to leave him behind?

He was trying to gather the strength to get up again when he saw someone passing by the door in a full run, and even if he didn’t have the time to see who it was, he was sure that it was sweet Marley trying to get that ax from the basement the others so obviously needed to let them out of there. Blaine guessed the others weren’t making big advances on their mission if they still needed the ax, but he doubted they had given her permission to go –or if they even knew what she was doing.

Without thinking twice about it, Blaine threw the full backpack on his back and awkwardly got on his feet as he knew he would be faster that way. Leaning against the walls, trying to keep his balance, he walked down the hallway to the now open door to the basement, with the intention of convincing Marley to get out of there before it was too late. But before he could touch the door due to his unusual slowness, one of the beams from the ceiling fell in front of him, missing him just by inches and blocking the door to the basement, effectively blocking Marley’s exit.

Knowing that his pride would have to be left to the side because it was completely impossible that he would be able to move the beam on his own, Blaine turned around and started limping back towards the living room, the coughing getting so bad due to the smoking in the corridor that he could hardly keep himself standing.

“Help” he tried to yell as soon as he reached the living room, but not more than a whisper came out from his throat, which was violently being shaken with coughs. He tried again, but this time not even a whisper came out.

Fortunately for him, Artie was able to hear the coughing, and when he turned to the source of the noise, he was appalled to see the state Blaine was in, coughing like a madman and slipping to the floor as if he couldn’t hold his own weight anymore.

“Blaine!” Artie yelled, and it was enough to make everyone stop on their actions and turn around to see what was happening, and most of them winced at the vision.

Both Sam and Cooper immediately threw their tools and ran to the smaller boy, who was sitting on the floor as he desperately fought to get some breath between the horrible coughing that was shaking all his body.

“Blaine!” Sam exclaimed as he knelt in front of the other boy, panic-stricken at seeing his boyfriend in such distress.

“It’s ok, Blainey” Cooper said in a reassuring tone, much more calmly than the blond boy as he put a hand on Blaine’s shoulder for comfort and another one under his chin to make him look at him. “Stay calm and try to breathe with me. Deep breaths, come on”

Blaine did what he was told, but as he tried to take a deep breath the coughing turned worse again. He felt his lungs burning with pain, and the panic he could see in Sam’s eyes as the latter shook him and repeated his name wasn’t helping to control the fear that was starting to grip his heart at his inability to breathe. Knowing he had to do something fast if he didn’t want to choke, he turned his attention to his brother, whose expression was far calmer and more reassuring, and again tried to coordinate his breaths with his.

“You’re doing great, Blainey” Cooper said with the ghost of a smile when he noticed Blaine starting to breathe, even if he still couldn’t control the coughing. “A little bit more, come on”

“Marley” Blaine whispered, but his voice sounded so rough and painful that he doubted he had even been heard.

“What did you say, sweetie?” Sam asked, as he fortunately had noticed he was trying to talk.

“Marley… Trapped…” Blaine tried again, weakly pointing at the end of the corridor before the next bout of coughing broke, though luckily this time it was enough for Sam to understand what was happening.

“Guys! Help me here, Marley got trapped in the basement!” Sam yelled towards the people still in the living room, and he was not surprised when Jake ran by them towards the basement without hesitation, his brother close at his heels.

“Go… with… them” Blaine whispered to his boyfriend, knowing the Puckerman brothers wouldn’t be able to move that beam on their own.

Sam looked intently at his boyfriend, and even if he was starting to regain his breath and the color was starting to return to his cheeks, it was quite obvious the battle going on inside Sam’s head, as he didn’t want to leave Blaine until he was a hundred per cent sure he was alright, but he also wanted to help their friends.

“I’ll stay with him, you go, Sam” Cooper decided for him as he gently pushed him. After all, he could see Sam was pretty scared, and the best thing to do was to keep Blaine calm so he could focus on his breathing.

Sam silently obeyed for once and ran behind the Puckerman brothers to help them, trying to will his heart to regain a normal pace after the fright he had gotten with Blaine. He would surely admonish him later for disobeying him yet once again and putting himself at risk, but it would have to wait, at the most important thing right then was to make sure Marley wouldn’t be the next victim.

“Marley?” Jake shouted at the slightly open door behind the beam that was blocking it, silently praying that his girlfriend would still be alright.

“I’m here!” Marley’s strained voice reached them immediately, as she was obviously just behind the door, but the horrible bout of coughing that followed her words was a clear indication that they didn’t have a lot of time.

“We’ll get you out of there in a second” Jake promised her as he put his hands under the beam and pulled before the others were even ready, obviously not being able to even move it an inch on his own. “Boys, don’t just stay there, help me move this thing”

Puck and Sam rushed to comply and quickly grabbed on the beam themselves to help the younger boy. At the count of three, all of them used all his forces to lift the beam from the door, but it was even heavier than expected. The strain on their faces was quite evident as they held into them, and it was that suffering in Sam’s face that kept Blaine from letting himself be moved from where he was still sitting at the other end of the corridor, even if his brother kept insisting, unable to move until he knew everybody –especially Sam– was safe and sound.

Another fragment of the ceiling, much smaller this time but covered in flames, fell on Sam’s shoulder before he was even aware of it to avoid it.

“Shit!” he exclaimed before he could even stop himself when the burning wood made contact with his body, though he didn’t stop pulling on the beam to get it out of him.

“Sam!” Blaine yelled, forgetting about his weakness to try and run to his boyfriend, but his brother stopped him before he could even get up from the floor.

“Stay still once and for all, damn it!” Cooper admonished him and gave him a pointed look to let him he was not going to deal with any more of his silliness before he stood up himself and ran to help the boy who obviously meant so much to his brother.

Cooper covered his hand with his sleeve for protection, and he rushed to push the burning plank from Sam’s shoulder before it could do really serious damage, and then proceeded to help them with the beam. The added strength was exactly what was needed, and with a last effort they were able to separate the beam from the door enough so it could finally be opened.

“Marley!” Jake exclaimed when he saw his girlfriend doubled over next to the door, coughing her lungs out, though she seemed unharmed apart from that.

“I found it” she proudly said between the coughs as she pointed at the ax in his hand, that Puck immediately took while Jake helped her to her feet.

“Come on” he encouraged her as he put his arms around her and helped her towards the living room.

“You alright?” Cooper asked the blond boy, who seemed to be in one piece but had a slight grimace of pain on his face as he touched the burned area on his shoulder.

“Yeah, it’s nothing” Sam immediately diminished the importance of it, even rolling his shoulder to show his brother-in-law it wasn’t a big deal.

“You should get that checked, just in case” Cooper insisted, but he could see Sam was not listening to him anymore as the blond walked towards where Blaine was still sitting, looking anxiously at him.

“You alright?” Blaine asked in a scared voice as Sam knelt in front of him, his hands moving on their own accord to cup the blond’s cheeks.

“I’m alright” Sam immediately reassured him as he covered Blaine’s hands with his own.

“Did you get burnt?”

“Only a little”

“May I…?” Blaine asked, already trying to move Sam’s ruined hoodie to the side to check on his skin himself, but Sam gently stopped him.

“Yes, I’ll let you check it, I promise, but later, once I’m sure we’re out of danger” _And once I’ve checked you’re 100% alright,_ he added to himself when Blaine coughed again. “Now let me help you inside”

“Alright” Blaine easily agreed, not wanting to give his boyfriend any more reason to worry, as he let himself be practically picked from the floor until he was standing on his feet and Sam’s arms around his waist we’re keeping him upright and gently pushing him inside the living room.

“Coop, get the backpack, please!” Blaine yelled at his shoulder, asking his brother to take everything that he had risked his life to pack and that had been forgotten until then in Sam’s backpack, lying next to the door he had just left.

“I’m going to be angry at you for that stunt later, you know that, don’t you?” Sam gently admonished him as he lowered him to the floor again, only half joking.

“Yeah, I know” Blaine admitted, blushing as his boyfriend scolded him in front of a smirking Artie.

“Good” Sam answered with a chuckle as he took the cloth that was hanging loosely around his neck and tied it around Blaine’s to cover his mouth, as he had managed to lose his. “And now please do as you are told and stay here”

Sam was about to go back to work on opening an exit for everyone when a louder noise than the rest resounded around the room, followed by Puck’s triumphant yell.

“It’s open!” he exclaimed when the ax finally broke the planks covering one of the large windows from the living room. “A couple more blows and we can get through it. Start getting ready, people, we’re going out”

The youngsters didn’t stop a second to celebrate Puck’s success –only hollered their happiness for a second– but obeyed instead, taking everything they would need with them –they would be taking the bus, so they didn’t have to worry about carrying too much–. And that, thanks to Marley, Artie and Blaine’s diligent work from a while before, didn’t take them more than a few minutes before Mike leaded them in the evacuation.

“Now we need to be careful” he explained while he stood next to the window, ready to go outside. “Remember there are a lot of walkers just outside the fence and we need to go all around the house until the bus, so we are definitely meeting them”

“We should wait until we are outside and try and walk in a tight group, all together” Blaine suggested as he held onto Sam to remain upright. “Remember when we arrived to the prison and we walked on a circle? We need to do that again, it’s far safer and more efficient than just trying to fight the walkers on our own”

“As usual, you’re just right” Puck answered. “The fence will hold them outside until we’re all out and then we can proceed as Blaine said”

“Ok, let’s start” Mike, looking more and more like his old self with each passing minute, said. “Jake and I will go first and then Puck and Cooper can pass Artie through the window and we’ll take him from outside. Right, Artie?”

“Sure” Artie answered with a sigh, hating to always being such trouble but knowing there was nothing he could do.

Just as Mike had suggested, he and Jake were the first ones to climb through that window. They knew it would have been much more comfortable with a door, but they couldn’t ask for more given their current situation. They turned around towards the house, where Santana and Brittany gave them Artie’s chair –as Artie was already in Cooper and Puck’s arms– so they could comfortably leave him there as soon as he was out. And getting him through the window without dropping him turned to be a little trickier than expected, given the considerable height from the window to the floor on the outer side of the house, but in the end they managed.

“I’ll help you from outside, Squirt” Cooper immediately volunteered and was out of the window before his brother could even begin to protest that he could do it on his own.

“Come on, sweetie” Sam encouraged his boyfriend while he all but lifted him to sit on the window sill, from where Cooper took over and gently helped his little brother to the grass outside.

All the others followed the first ones outside, one by one, as calmly as they could on their situation. Fortunately, in the long while it had taken them to open an exit the worst of the storm seemed to have passed and the thunder, that had been so loud and scary only a while ago, now seemed to be miles away, even if the rain was still falling hard on them.

As they had decided, the ones outside were patiently waiting in the rain for the rest of them to be helped outside. Sam had made Blaine sit against the wall to rest until they had to run, and Artie was just looking from his chair as student after student made their way through the window. In fact, he was so concentrated on that that he never felt a presence behind him until it was already grabbing his shoulder. And in one quick movement, the walker behind him made him tumble from his chair and threw him on the floor.

“Guys!” Blaine yelled at the top of his lungs when Artie’s little surprised yelp alerted him that something was wrong and he turned around to see him being attacked. Unfortunately, he knew there was no way he would be quick enough to stand up and run to him, so it was better if he got him help before it was too late. “Someone help Artie, please!”

Sam and Puck turned around at Blaine’s plea and were terrified to see Artie on the floor, desperately fighting a walker while two others were starting to reach him too. They didn’t know how they had gotten inside the fence –maybe a section of it had burnt too?–, but it didn’t matter: they had to be quick or they would lose Artie for sure.

Without a second thought the two friends ran to Artie, even if they hardly could see him under the pile of walkers trying to get him. In a swift movement, Puck got his gun out of his waistband and shot at one of them, the one next to Artie’s legs, conveniently stopping it as the bullet reached its brain. But the other lurkers were too close to Artie to have a clean shot, so they knew they would have to fight. Grabbing their knives strongly in their hands, they jumped on the monsters and fought with them until Artie was freed from their attack.

“Artie, you ok?” Puck asked as he kicked the walker still lying on Artie’s legs away from him, scrunching up his nose in disgust at the stain it had left on Artie’s pants when he had blown its head off.

“Yeah, yeah” Artie answered while trying to regain his breath, taking Sam’s hand to help him sit up. “But damn it, that was close”

“It was” Puck agreed as Sam and he helped Artie back to his chair.

“Be careful!” Sam heard Blaine scream desperately, and he only had time to turn around slightly before he could see at least ten walkers also finding their way to them.

“The walkers have entered!” Sam shouted for everyone to hear as he started fighting with the closest ones, terrified that his hands were full with them and he couldn’t go to protect his lover.

Puck also started fighting like a madman, putting himself in front of Artie for protection, just before the rest of the youngsters ran to help. Cursing his weakness, Blaine only got to watch how the others fought as he kept himself against the wall, trying not to interfere or get any attention on him so nobody would have to come to his rescue. He looked worriedly at how more and more walkers seemed to be finding their way towards them, probably attracted by all the noise they were doing, and he prayed that they wouldn’t lose anyone else.

“We can’t just stay here, there are more of them with each passing minute!” Cooper yelled over all the ruckus. “We need to get to the bus now!”

Everyone nodded in agreement, even if they didn’t know how they were going to do it. Fortunately those monsters were not fast, and maybe if they made a circle as Blaine had suggested when they were still in the house, they would be able to make it without any casualties.

They were still trying to figure out how to do it when Blaine noticed Sam’s face go completely white when the blade of his knife, the only one he had on him, broke as it embedded itself on a walker’s cranium. And the couple of seconds he had lost was enough to get him completely surrounded by other walkers without anyone else noticing. And it would be a matter of seconds before one of them started biting onto his flesh.

Getting his forces renewed in an instant at seeing the boy he loved about to be eaten alive, Blaine got up from the floor and ran towards where his boyfriend was, hoping that he wouldn’t be too late.

“Sam!” he yelled to get his attention –and with a little bit of luck, the attention of some of those walkers so they would forget about Sam and turn to him instead– and threw his knife at him, which Sam easily caught up and started fighting again, even more fiercely now that he knew Blaine was also there.

Blaine got one of the wooden weapons Sam had made from that old chair and that he was carrying on Sam’s backpack and tried to fight too. But he soon discovered he was not well enough for that, as his moves were slow and weak, and the weapon was not as effective as a knife was. Twice he tried to embed it on the walker in front of him, but he missed and only managed to hit the monster –which of course didn’t affect the walker on the least–. With a frustrated yell, he tried again and this time he was able to kill it. But all the time he had lost with it worked against him, and that walker had not yet fallen when another one appeared unexpected behind it and threw itself at Blaine, pushing him to the floor without him being able to stop it.

Blaine thought he could have vomited at the stench that emanated from the walker on top of him as it tried to lower his head enough to bite into his flesh if he had the time, Blaine thought as he fought to keep it at arm’s length. He had lost his weapon on the fall, and even if he hadn’t, both his hands were busy trying to keep that monster far enough from his body. But he couldn’t lie to himself about it: he was very aware that he was losing the battle, as he hardly had any strength left and the effort he was doing kept him from even trying to scream for help. The walker’s head was coming closer and closer to his still tender shoulder, and his last thoughts went to his brother, who had been through hell only to get to him, and to Sam, sweet perfect Sam, who would undoubtedly spend the rest of his life blaming himself because Blaine had been trying to help him.

He closed his eyes, as he was already feeling the walker’s breath on his neck and it was a spectacle he surely didn’t want to see, when all of a sudden he felt its weight lifted from his body and the unmistakable sound of bones breaking. He dared opening his eyes a glimpse, and it was then when he discovered Sam next to him, his eyes wide with terror as he knelt next to him and cupped his cheeks in desperation.

“B!” he yelled, and Blaine wished he could regain his voice quicker so he could stop Sam from worrying so much. “B, please, tell me it didn’t get you”

“It didn’t get me” Blaine answered in a small voice, closing his eyes again even if that time it was from relief as Sam lifted his upper body from the floor and strongly held him against his sturdy chest.

“You alright?” Sam asked, wishing he had more time to hold Blaine in his arms and get comforted by the fact that he had not been bitten and his heart was still beating, but unfortunately, he didn’t.

“Yeah” Blaine answered, his voice already stronger if only by the strength Sam was giving him through his embrace. “You?”

“Yeah, thanks to you” Sam answered with a quick kiss to Blaine’s forehead before turning to look around them and see how everyone else was fairing. Fortunately everyone seemed still in one piece and getting together in a circle to move towards the bus.

“Watch out!” Cooper yelled, suddenly at their side, when an unnoticed walker made their way towards them and was dangerously close to biting Sam’s back. Fortunately, Cooper stopped him with a well-aimed blow.

“Shit” Blaine exclaimed when he noticed how close Sam had been to being bitten, and he clung more desperately to him in hopes of getting his heart back to a normal rate.

“Are you two alright?” Cooper asked in a rush, more than slightly scared about finding them on the floor and Sam holding his brother up –had he maybe gotten hurt?

“Yes” Sam answered in both their names.

“Then what the hell are you doing there?” Cooper practically yelled at them, though Blaine could see it was more from fright than real anger. “Let’s get into the bus now!”

Not wanting to get a negative answer or give Blaine time to protest, Sam didn’t even ask for permission to carry Blaine to the bus and silently picked him up into his arms and rushed to obey Cooper and make it into the human circle his friends were making. Helping Blaine walk would probably take them more time, and he felt calmer having him in his arms anyway. And Blaine seemed to feel how much he needed it, as for once he didn’t protest and just closed his arms around Sam’s neck, silently trusting him with his life.

The others closed around them as soon as they saw them to protect them, the same way they were doing with Artie, and Cooper rested a reassuring hand on Blaine’s back before bodily putting himself between the couple and the walkers, ready to defend them at any price.

They started slowly advancing towards the bus, only taking the time to kill those walkers getting in their way and leaving the others behind, and before they knew it they had made it to the vehicle. Mike and Puck jumped in first to get Artie into it, and then Sebastian did the same to help Blaine when Sam left him on the steps.

Once they were sure everyone had made it safely, Santana took her usual position at the controls of the bus and closed the door while trying to ignore the walkers knocking desperately on it.

“Are we sure we want to leave?” Kitty asked as she looked around her: Blaine seemed completely spent already while Sebastian helped him to a seat and Sam rushed to sit next to him, obviously worried about him; and Artie didn’t seem much better, his face pale and covered with sweat, probably from the fright he had gotten or how much it mortified him to depend so much on the others. They surely didn’t look ready to travel. “Maybe we should just move to another house for a couple more days”

“We picked that house for a reason” Santana answered, trying to remain calm because she knew it was an honest question. “And that was because it was the only one with a fence, hence it was the only one relatively safe. You’ve seen how the whole neighborhood is infested with walkers, there is no way we can stay here without any kind of protection. Besides, the fire already burnt our fence down and moved to the next house, it’s a matter of time before the whole street is on fire”

“It’s raining, the fire will die down before that” Kitty insisted, even if she could see she was already losing the battle.

“Even if that was true, it changes nothing about the safety issue” Santana reminded her. “I know it seems difficult, and I know we don’t seem ready, but we’re here now, aren’t we? We can always stop again if we find a place good enough for that”

“We can do it, Kitty” Blaine intervened from his seat, knowing it was mostly him the girl was worrying about. “We’ve been through worse”

“I’m not sure that’s true” Kitty answered with a chuckle, marveled at how the petite boy always tried to diminish the seriousness of his injuries. “But you’re right, it’s not like we have another option, do we?”

“So let’s get going, people!” Santana yelled in an encouraging way as she turned around and started driving.

All the others started sitting around the bus, as they would probably were going to be in it for a good while. After a short while, Sam made himself more comfortable on his seat and took Blaine’s hand in his to entwine their fingers together. He was surprised when Blaine only smiled and leant into his side, though, as it just showed him how weak he was still feeling.

“You’re not going to pretend with me, right?” Sam whispered to him, knowing it was easier to get Blaine to be honest if he didn’t have an audience.

“What?” Blaine asked, knitting his brow in confusion.

“Are you really ok? Are you going to make it?” Sam asked, trying not to show how worried he was about his boyfriend’s endurance, though obviously Blaine knew better.

“Sure, of course” Blaine rushed to answer, grabbing Sam’s chin between his fingers so he would look at him and see in his eyes how honest he was. “Yes, I’m tired and I’m weak, I know, but… I’ll survive. With your help”

“You don’t even have to ask for that” Sam answered before resting a long kiss to Blaine’s temple, moved to no end that Blaine would feel comfortable enough with him so as to admit his weaknesses and even ask for his help.

“And what about you? We should take care of that shoulder” Blaine insisted, as no lack of strength or stupid weakness would ever stop him from worrying about Sam’s injuries too. “It must hurt pretty bad”

“It’s not that bad, just a little singed” Sam joked, wanting to diminish the importance of it for Blaine’s sake, though the truth was that the burn stung more than a little.

“Still…” Blaine tried to insist, but Sam quickly shushed him.

“I’ll let you have a look at it, I already promised, as soon as we stop somewhere, ok?” Sam answered, a smile breaking irremediably in his lips as Blaine put an arm around his shoulder and brought him to lie on his chest in a protective manner.

“I just want you to be okay” Blaine answered, reinforcing his message with a sweet kiss to Sam’s nose that instantly melted the blond’s heart.

“We’ll be okay” Sam promised while he rested his hand in Blaine’s thigh and closed his eyes, letting himself fall in the security that his boyfriend’s arms around him provided, even if it was only for a little while.

Kitty smiled at the ever-entwined couple –as Blaine rested his head on Sam’s and closed his eyes in contentment at having him in his arms– and smiled fondly at them, wondering how it had taken them so long and a whole apocalypse to get together when their feelings for each other had been obvious to her from the beginning. But well, better late than never, she guessed. And they surely seemed to be making for the lost time.

She continued looking through the bus: Brittany was at the front seat, undoubtedly keeping Santana some company as the latter drove; Unique and Sugar were lively talking and joking about something –and Kitty thanked the universe there were still people like them in the world–, while Jake and Marley were lost in an embrace, probably still too shaken at how close the girl had been to not live to tell the tale; Puck was dozing off, his mouth hanging open and with a small tickle of spittle falling from the corner of his mouth that made her laugh; and Cooper, Sebastian, Trent and Mike were on the back of the bus, probably debating about their options, judging by the solemnity of their faces and the seriousness of their tones. So that left only Artie.

Kitty turned around to look at her special friend, who was quietly sitting on the place where the others had helped him to. He was silent and he looked a little under the weather. He was probably just scared a bit, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask, right?

“Artie?” the petite girl as she sat on the seat right in front of his and turned in it around to face him. “You okay?”

“Yeah” Artie answered, not sounding too convincing.

“You could have fooled me” Kitty answered sarcastically, only half joking.

“Well, I suddenly got a bit cold and my body feels like it weights a tone. I think I might have caught something” Artie confessed, and looking more closely at him, Kitty realized he looked a bit feverish.

“You seem to be getting a fever” she announced after checking his forehead with the palm of her hand. “Trust you to get a cold at the best of times”

“I know” Artie answered with a soft sigh, turning to look through the window –and away from Kitty’s prying gaze. “As if I wasn’t a burden enough as it is, right?”

“I didn’t mean that” Kitty rushed to answer, her heart breaking at the thoughts going on in Artie’s head. “I was just joking. You’re not a burden to anyone, Artie. You know we all love you”

“I know that” Artie answered with a sad smile. “And that’s exactly why I am a burden to all of you, because you feel obliged to take care of me”

“We all take care of each other, not just you” Kitty answered in complete honesty. “Or haven’t we all taken care of Blaine just the same?”

“Yes, but he’ll be alright in no time and he won’t need for you to babysit him any longer” Artie protested, knowing that even if he and Blaine were in similar situations right then, his was much more permanent that Blaine’s. “That won’t happen to me, though, right?”

“Artie, you are a part of this group exactly the same as everybody else is, a valuable piece of this family. You need more help than others? Ok, I’ll give you that. But… so? You help us too. If I’m injured or sick tomorrow, I know you will do anything in your power to help me. How is it any different with you?”

Artie finally let himself be convinced by the blonde that had lately become so important to him –too much for a friend– and smiled sweetly at her.

“Thank you, Kitty. I really needed to hear that”

“You’re welcome” she answered, completely avoiding the praise. “And now why don’t you imitate Puck and have a nap? I’m sure you’ll feel better after it”

“Maybe” Artie replied, agreeing on how good it would feel to give his battered body a rest. He couldn’t have picked a better time to fall sick, right?

They drove for a long while, their spirits falling down at each village they passed, as every one of them was as destroyed and dead as the last one. It was not as they were expecting to magically find a frontier between the hell they were living and the healthy civilization they were hoping to find –thanks to Cooper they perfectly knew that whatever virus or illness they were facing, it had spread a long way across the country–, but seeing so much destruction, misery and corpses was not easy anyway.

Sam looked up from Blaine’s chest when he noticed the change in his breathing and he quickly noticed he had fallen asleep. Well, not that it was surprising, after all the excitement of the day. It was the first time he had left the office, after all, and all of a sudden he had been involved in a fire and had had to fight some walkers as they ran away. He was bound to be exhausted and weak. At least he didn’t have a fever anymore, Sam was glad to find when he rested his hand on his boyfriend’s forehead, careful so as not to wake him up. And well… Sam couldn’t say he was not glad that at least, as he slept, Blaine didn’t get to see all the devastation they were passing by.

Wanting to make Blaine more comfortable, Sam carefully rearranged their positions and had Blaine rest against his chest instead, so he could keep him warm through his embrace and hold him so he could cushion the rattling of the old bus so he wouldn’t wake up with the slightest bump of the road and closed his eyes to ask the universe to give that amazing human being a rest for a change.

The landscape from the highway they were at right then wasn’t that painful to see, as there were no building around to be destroyed. They only found abandoned cars every now and then –and some walkers and corpses Sam pretended not to see–, so Sam played a game with himself about imagining they were on some kind of vacation, and his dreamy boyfriend was sleeping in his arms just because he was exhausted from all the fun they had had during the day.

Sam was taken out from his daydreaming when the bus suddenly started trembling and making a strange noise and, after a few seconds, it completely stopped.

“What the hell happened?” he practically yelled, though he immediately regretted when Blaine almost stirred at the noise.

“I don’t know” Santana answered, feeling strangely guilty even if she objectively knew it wasn’t her fault. “Maybe we ran out of gas? I know we didn’t have a lot of that, but the hand on the fuel gauge didn’t move. Maybe it’s broken, I don’t know”

“Or maybe something broke down” Mike suggested from the back of the bus. “It doesn’t really matter since we can do nothing about it”

“I’m really sorry, guys” Santana apologized to everyone, though he was looking specifically at Sam and the angry face he was sporting at the moment.

“It’s not your fault, Santana” Sam answered with a sigh, trying to soften his expression to let her know his anger was not directed at her. “At all. It’s just… shit”

“Let’s not waste any time lamenting on our bad luck” Puck suggested, after immediately having woken up from his nap at the change in their speed –or the sudden absolute lack of it– and the discussion following it, while he was already standing up and hanging his backpack from his shoulders. “Let’s go”

“Go where?” Cooper asked, looking worriedly at his sleeping brother.

“Somewhere. Anywhere” Puck answered. “We can’t just stay here, right?”

“No, but…” Sam tried to protest, but Puck stopped him before he could give any arguments.

“We can go now or we can go tomorrow because nobody is going to come for us. I thought it would be best if we didn’t get to spend the night in the cold here” Puck tried to explain, also looking at Blaine and worrying about how he would fair in a freezing bus all night in his state.

Sam looked at Cooper for a second, as if asking him for his opinion –after all, he was Blaine’s big brother, Sam couldn’t possibly claim all responsibility for the boy on his own, right?–, and it took the older man at least a minute to sigh and nod at him. They knew Puck was right: they didn’t have another option. But it broke their hearts having to put Blaine through yet another trance they weren’t sure he could overcome.

“Then come on, everybody get ready, it’s time to walk” Mike said to encourage everyone to start moving, but also to take the focus out of Blaine and Sam to give them a little time. “Take only what you can carry, we don’t know how long it will be until we find somewhere to stay”

“Sweetie?” Sam whispered as he gently shook Blaine’s arm, not wanting to scare him awake, as everyone started getting ready for their trip. “You need to wake up”

“But I’m so tired” Blaine answered in a barely audible voice, his eyes still closed, sounding really exhausted indeed –which didn’t help in one bit to put Sam’s heart at rest.

“I know you are, but we need to leave” Sam insisted, trying to sound understanding but resolute at the same time while he watched Blaine fighting to open his eyes.

“Where are we?” Blaine asked, and Sam couldn’t help but to smile fondly at him at the adorable way in which he rubbed his eyes, almost as if he was a little kid.

“Right in the middle of nowhere” Sam answered too honestly before he could stop himself, frustration and fear already taking its toll on him.

“What?” Blaine asked, fully awake all of a sudden thanks to Sam’s tone.

“We ran out of gas or something” Sam explained, tenderly removing some curls from Blaine’s forehead in a poor attempt of comfort. “We’ll have to walk now”

A flash of pain and desolation crossed Blaine’s face before he could stop it, but he immediately hid it under a reassuring smile –that Sam perfectly knew it was only for his benefit– and tried sounding as confident as he could manage.

“Alright, let’s go then” he said, lifting his upper body from Sam’s chest so the latter could see how ready he was.

Smiling proudly at him, Sam picked up Blaine’s hand in his and pulled him upright to follow the others outside. It was going to be a long way indeed, but one look at Blaine’s resolute expression and Sam knew they could make it.

**********

They hadn’t been walking for more than half an hour when Sam noticed his encouraging hold on Blaine’s hand wasn’t enough anymore as their pace was getting increasingly slower with each step, and the only reason they weren’t being left behind was everyone’s patience and understanding that made them walk more slowly too.  But not wanting Blaine to feel bad with himself, or make him feel as if he didn’t appreciate his endurance, he wordlessly took Blaine’s arm and threw it around his own shoulder to help him, closing his own hand around Blaine’s waist for more support. Blaine didn’t say anything either, but the grateful smile he gave his boyfriend and the trusting way in which he leant against Sam’s side were enough to warm his heart.

Blaine wasn’t the only one who was experiencing trouble to keep up with the others, and Mike had started pushing Artie’s chair when he noticed how the younger boy was getting more and more tired by the minute. The flush of his cheeks and the sweat on his forehead in spite how cold it was were proof enough that he had a nice fever already, and Mike prayed that whatever it was that Artie had caught, wouldn’t spread too much around them, as getting everyone weak and sick was not exactly what they needed right then.

“Does anyone have any idea where we’re going?” Brittany asked after a while in a resigned tone that made Santana take her hand in hers.

“I’d say anywhere where we can find some shelter for the night” Cooper answered, looking worriedly at his brother and at the boy at the wheelchair, knowing none of them would survive a night at the open in their current situation. “We can think about our possibilities tomorrow”

“It’s getting dark already” Puck observed in a grave tone. “We should find somewhere fast, before the temperature drops too much”

Everyone knew how right Puck was, they could already feel the cold in their bones and it was not fully dark yet, but they didn’t know if they were near anything by then. What they knew was that, as much as they would want to, there was no way they could go any faster without leaving anyone behind.

Blaine’s endurance chose that moment to reach its limit, and his knees buckled. He would have ended on the floor if not by Sam’s quick reflexes, but as soon as he recovered his balance he tried to continue, hoping Sam wouldn’t say anything. Of course he was not going to be so lucky.

“B” Sam patiently said, trying not to show his anxiety at his partner’s suffering so as not to get him in the defensive.

“I’m alright” Blaine unsurprisingly answered as he tried to take another step, even if his feet failed to respond.

“You’re not” Sam insisted as he carefully lowered Blaine’s body until he was sitting on the floor, giving him the rest he so desperately needed before alerting everyone of their situation. “Guys, wait, we need a rest”

“Just give me a minute” Blaine answered, still panting from the effort, when all the looks turned to him and he could see that worry he hated so much in all those eyes.

“No, you can’t go on” Cooper intervened, moving to sit down next to his brother so he could rest a comforting hand on his thigh. “You did the best you could, more than anyone else would probably have, but that’s it”

“Just let me try, I can make it” Blaine insisted, and it broke everyone’s heart when his voice broke at the end, as they knew he was feeling like a loser and extremely guilty for delaying everyone.

“No, Blaine” Sam replied as he knelt in front of him and tenderly picked his hand in his. “I know what you’re going to say, but please climb on my back, you can’t go on any longer”

“Yes, I can, if you help me” Blaine answered, his eyes getting glassy with unshed tears at the frustration and the pain he was feeling.

“B, it’s better for everyone if you take care of yourself” Sam tried to make him see, as his hand moved on its own accord to Blaine’s cheek to remove a stray tear that had found its way down his skin. “If you pass out from exhaustion it will be much harder to carry you, you know? Plus I’d probably get a heart attack if that happened. Let’s keep it simple, ok?”

“But Sam, you can’t carry me for that long” Blaine protested, and it was exactly then when Sam really understood that Blaine was not trying to look strong, or being too proud, but just worrying about him and wanting to spare him from making such an effort. “Even if you say I don’t weight that much, you’ll worn yourself out”

“We’ll take turns with Cooper” Sam compromised, looking at his brother-in-law for confirmation. “Right, Coop?”

“Of course” Cooper agreed with no hesitation, fondly rubbing his little brother’s wild hair in an attempt of getting a smile out of him.

“I can help too” Sebastian offered, and it was then when Blaine realized that most of their friends were circling them, obviously worried about him.

“So do I” Trent added with his trademark kind smile.

“Or me” Puck said with a shrug of his shoulders, as if it wasn’t that big a deal.

“See? You don’t have any more excuses now” Sam said with a smile, moved to no end at how much all their friends seemed to care about Blaine, as he looked intently into Blaine’s eyes to break the last of his reticence.

“Alright” Blaine finally agreed, chuckling when Sam raised his fist in the air as a sign of victory. “But you have to agree to something too”

“What is it?”

“That the minute you get tired of carrying me you’ll say so”

“I promise” Sam answered with no hesitation: anything to get Blaine to agree, he thought, even if he was not sure he was ready to stick to that promise and let others take care of Blaine when he could do it himself.

As there was no point in them losing any more time, Cooper helped Blaine to his feet and onto Sam’s back, who immediately put his hands under Blaine’s legs to keep him from falling –and to keep him there, because you never knew with that hyperactive boy!–. The others quickly got ready, and this time it was Sugar who placed herself behind Artie’s chair and started pushing for him, having also noticed the poor state he was in.

**********

They continued like that for a good while. There hardly was any conversation between them, as they were growing more tired and more preoccupied as they kept walking and didn’t seem to reach anywhere they could stay in for the night. It was completely dark by then, and the cold was surely seeping through their bones. And if Sam was so cold, and he was doing the physical effort of walking and carrying his boyfriend, just imagine how cold Blaine would be, considering he was not moving, he was still sick and usually very sensible to the cold.

Fortunately Cooper must have thought the same, because he had taken a blanket out of his backpack and had thrown it around his little brother’s shoulders, carefully tucking him in to make sure he would be as comfortable as possible. And it must have helped a bit, because Sam had been feeling the weight of Blaine’s head on his shoulder for a while as the smaller boy fell irremediably asleep, Sam thought with a fond smile. Not that he could blame him, after all the excitement of the day.

“Guys, don’t get scared” Santana’s cryptic words took him out of his reverie. “But there’s a bunch of walkers coming out our way”

“Shit” Jake exclaimed as he took his gun out of his waistband, only to be stopped by his brother.

“No” Puck said. “We should avoid shooting if it’s possible. The noise of the guns will only attract other walkers near”

“We’re going to have to fight face to face” Sam added, his voice trembling as his heart started beating a million times faster in fear. How was he supposed to fight while carrying Blaine around? And letting go of him wasn’t an option either, of course, as he could hardly defend himself.

“Let’s stop here” Cooper suggested, understanding and sharing Sam’s worries. “We’ll wait for them here. That way we can protect Blaine and Artie better if we make a circle around them”

“Good idea” Mike agreed as he pushed Artie’s chair towards the center of the road.

“B?” Sam whispered over his shoulder as he shook Blaine’s legs to get him alert. “B, you need to wake up now”

“Are we there yet?” Blaine asked in a confused voice.

“No, but we’ve got company”

Blaine raised his head from Sam’s shoulder in an instant, perfectly understanding what that meant. And he hardly had any time to see the walkers coming towards them before Sam lowered him to the ground and pushed him to sit next to Artie’s chair.

“You grab your knife and be ready to defend yourself if it comes to that, but stay here and let us do the job unless it’s absolutely necessary, ok?” Sam warned him in a tone that left no room for argument, so Blaine just nodded, for once not wanting to make things harder on his boyfriend.

Silence fell upon them as they anxiously waited for the group of walkers to reach them, all of them forming a circle around the two most vulnerable members of the team to protect them. Due to the darkness, they couldn’t really tell how many of those monsters there were, but they hoped it was not a large group.

“Artie, you okay?” Blaine asked as his eyes fell on the sick boy. As he had been sleeping most of the trip, both in the bus and on Sam’s back, he hadn’t noticed about Artie’s state until then, but he was horrified at how horrible he looked.

“I’m not feeling that good” Artie admitted with a small voice. “I think I’ve caught something”

“Well, these guys will take care of us and we’ll be safe and sound somewhere in no time, buddy” Blaine tried to sound optimistic, and he was glad when Artie smiled gratefully at him.

Puck could hardly wait until the first walker reached them, and took a step forward to skillfully stab his knife into its skull in one quick movement. They were quickly surrounded by those monsters, but the way they had formed to fight them was very successful and those stupid lurkers couldn’t pass the barrier they had created. Mike failed one of his moves, but Sebastian was quick to help him before he was hurt. And Brittany did the same with Trent, even if her arm was still on a sling since the attack at the school.

Blaine’s heart seemed to be about to flow out of his chest at having to see Sam, Cooper and the rest fighting for their lives, even if they seemed to be making a good job of it. It killed him to know he couldn’t help, or worse, that they had to fight for him, but he knew they were doing it willingly because they loved him, so he guessed he should be happy after all. Just as they all took care of Artie.

Turning around to face him again, he was appalled to discover Artie had fallen unconscious, and his head was awkwardly falling over his own chest. Blaine quickly kneeled up in front of him and pressed two fingers to Artie’s neck to check his pulse and he winced when he discovered how fast it was.

“Artie?” he said, his voice full of fear as he gently shook Artie’s shoulders and patted his face in a desperate attempt to bring him back from his unconsciousness. “Artie, can you hear me?”

A hand rested on Blaine’s shoulder and he imagined it belonged to Sam or Cooper, or maybe Sebastian, checking on him after having finished all the walkers off.

“Artie’s not waking up, I’m afraid he might… “ he explained in a rush, but when the person touching him didn’t even try to speak and the nauseating odor of rotten flesh reached his nostrils, Blaine turned to look at the hand on his shoulder only to discover it didn’t belong to any living thing. “Shit!”

Blaine jumped from his skin and turned around in one go, falling on his butt in front of that creature who had seemed to overcome the barrier unnoticed as the others had gotten a bit separated while they fought. But he was quicker than they were, and when the walker knelt down on the floor to start biting on him, Blaine reinforced his grip on his knife and strongly embedded him on its brain until it fell dead right in front of him.

Another two hands grabbed strongly on his arms as he tried to regain his breath, and this time he didn’t even hesitate: he struggled like a madman to liberate himself from the tight grip holding him down, refusing to surrender even if he hardly had any strength left, and when he was able to extricate from it, he jumped to his knees and turned around with his knife ready to attack.

“Blaine, stop! It’s me!” Sam’s voice finally registered in his brain, and he realized he must have been calling him for some time by the fright he could see in his eyes as he hid behind his own raised arms, trying to protect himself from Blaine’s attack.

“I’m sorry” Blaine apologized with half a sob as he lowered his weapon. “I thought you were…”

“I know” Sam immediately forgave him, even crawling the distance separating them to embrace him close to his chest as he looked at the fallen walker behind Blaine with disdain. “Are you alright? Did some of those monsters get you?”

“No, it was just a bit too close” Blaine explained as he let himself fall in the comfort of Sam’s arms for a minute. “You?”

“We’re all fine, fortunately there were not too many of them” Sam reassured him with a kiss to the top of his head.

“Artie’s not fine” Blaine said as he broke the embrace, suddenly remembering about his unconscious friend. “I mean he wasn’t bitten or anything, but he fell unconscious. I don’t know what’s wrong with him”

“Artie?” Kitty said in a worried tone as she copied Blaine’s gestures from before and gently slapped Artie’s face.

“What?” the other boy answered in a weak voice when he finally regained consciousness.

“Oh my God, Artie, you gave us the fright of our lives” Sugar protested with a shaky laugh.

“You’re burning up with a fever” Kitty said as he checked his temperature with her hand.

“I just need a bit of rest and I’ll be as good as new” Artie replied, not wanting the girl to worry too much.

“Let’s keep going then” Kitty suggested in an authoritarian voice as this time it was her who got behind Artie’s chair to push it. “We don’t have any time to lose”

“If those walkers were around, maybe there were somewhere near” Sebastian said, trying to lift everyone’s spirits with his theory. “You know… before turning into walkers. Maybe there is something close for us to stay in for the night”

“You’re right” Unique added. “I’m sure we’re very close to something now”

“Alright, so let’s go” Sam said as he crouched slightly in front of Blaine for him to climb on his back.

“You can’t carry me anymore, Sam, you must be exhausted” Blaine immediately refused. “Cooper can help me now”

“Sure” Cooper agreed.

“I’m not exhausted, I can carry you a bit longer” Sam insisted, not ready yet to delegate on what he considered his task.

“You promised to stop when you were tired”

“Well, I’m not tired yet, so come on, jump already”

“Alright” Blaine surrendered with a sigh. “But can you get me the backpack first?” Blaine asked, signaling at the backpack Cooper had been carrying for him until then and that had been left on the floor forgotten during the fight.

“Sure” Sam answered and went to obey his boyfriend’s wishes, only to find him already on Cooper’s back when he returned to him. “What the hell…?”

“Well, I’m sorry, but you weren’t being all that reasonable…” Blaine tried to apologize while also defending his own posture.

“Don’t blame him, it was me” Cooper added on his brother’s defense. “I just wanted to reminisce about the past when I used to carry him everywhere because the little prince would get too tired to walk on his own little feet”

“Hey!” Blaine protested in mock outrage as he slapped the back of Cooper’s head, making Sam chuckle fondly at the two brothers and forget he had been tricked.

**********

Half an hour later they still hadn’t found anywhere to shelter for the night. It was completely dark by then and the cold was intense, to the point where everybody was shivering and their teeth were clattering without them being able to stop it. Cooper was still carrying Blaine while Sam walked to them every now and then to rub on Blaine’s arms in a poor attempt of keeping the boy warm.

Cooper was about to ask someone else to substitute him as Blaine’s carrier when Marley’s excited voice caught his attention.

“Hey, look! A gas station!” she yelled.

“We can’t go back to the bus now, it’s too far away” Jake answered while sadly shaking his head. “Plus we don’t know if it will still work”

“No, but if it has a shop we could stay there for the night, right?” Marley insisted.

“Right” Puck intervened without being able to stop a wide smile from spreading on his lips. “Guys, we’ve found our shelter”

There was a collective cry of joy and relief –and Sam kissed Blaine’s arm, grateful that his boyfriend was going to find the rest he so desperately needed at last–, except from Artie, who was fairing worse and worse by the minute, and Kitty, who was dead worried about him.

Not remembering about how tired they were only a minute ago, all the youngsters practically ran towards the gas station, hardly able to wait to be inside, away from the cold and danger. It had been a long walk, after all, and they couldn’t wait to feel warm and safe and be able to rest through the night, after all the emotions of the day.

Sam didn’t even wait for Cooper to lower Blaine to the floor before he was putting his arms around the shorter boy’s waist and pulling him off his brother’s back himself. Fortunately, Sebastian’s theory about people living near before turning into walkers was right, as there were clear signs that this place had been used until very recently: blankets spread around the floor, drinking water, food leftovers, a gas lantern for camping probably used to warm the place… It was kind of sad, knowing the fate the previous owners of the place had met, but they weren’t going to waste everything they had left behind just for that, right?

“Why don’t you sit here and rest?” Sam asked his boyfriend even if he was not giving him the option to refuse, as he was already gently helping him down on a spread blanket –surprised that, for once, Blaine wasn’t even protesting, but he was probably too exhausted for that–. “You’ve definitely earned it”

“I’m freezing” Blaine answered, gratefully smiling at his lover as the latter wrapped a second blanket around his shoulder, over the one he had been carrying during their trip, and fondly rubbed his arms to get some warmth into him.

“You’ll warm up in a second” Sam promised as he moved to grab the gas lantern in front of them. “Let’s see if this thing still works”

Fortunately it did, and even if it was not a big thing, it helped a little and, more importantly, gave them the opportunity to heat up some food and drinks that would help warming them up from the inside.

Everybody else got into action to make the place safe, even if it was only for the night. After all, it had failed to keep the previous users safe, right? They didn’t dare sealing up the place like they had done to the house, in case something else happened and they got trapped inside again, but they rearranged the furniture to block every possible entrance.

Sam was helping Puck and Unique push some shelves against the main door when he slipped a bit and slightly bumped into it, causing him to grimace visibly at the contact with the burned skin of his shoulder. A grimace that didn’t go unnoticed for Blaine, even from the distance, because he had been silently keeping an eye on him all the time, knowing how he could not trust him to take care of himself, even if he knew Sam would usually say right the opposite.

“Sammy, please, come here so I can have a look at your shoulder” Blaine asked from his place a few feet from him, though some of them had to hide their grins at how much of an order it sounded as sweet as Blaine tried to be.

“Not now, I want to finish this first” Sam protested as he again tried to push the shelves, not aware that Unique and Puck had stopped to look amusedly at the couple.

“You promised” Blaine reminded him.

“I didn’t say when” Sam contradicted him, stopping also to look at him, arms akimbo to make more of an impression –even if he should have known that wasn’t going to have any effect on his boyfriend.

“Either you come here or I will manage to stand up and go there myself, it’s up to you” Blaine threatened with a resolute expression that elicited a sigh on Sam –who started walking towards him in surrender, as he didn’t want for Blaine to move– and more than a few muffled laughs between their friends at their old-married-couple behavior.

“You stubborn mule” Sam murmured as he sat down next to his boyfriend on the same blanket and ignored his triumphant smile.

“Look who’s talking!” Blaine replied with a mocking outraged expression that quickly turned into a deep frown when he unzipped the top of Sam’s hoodie and he took a look at the angry-looking burn. “It looks pretty painful” he said in a sympathetic and loving tone that immediately made Sam forget about his annoyance at him.

“It’s not that bad, just a little burn” Sam answered in a reassuring tone, not wanting for Blaine to worry about him any more than necessary, but the little grunt that escaped his lips when Blaine gently touched the area belied his words.

“It’s not that little, and burns hurt like the devil” Blaine seriously answered, wanting for Sam to know that he was not buying his pretence for even one second, while he moved to take something from the backpack in front of him. “Lucky for you I brought that ointment that Seb and Trent got from the drugstore. I’ll spread some over it”

Blaine didn’t wait for Sam to agree before he knelt up behind Sam and put a generous amount of the ointment on the blond’s shoulder and then proceeded to very gently spread it around the reddish area. The contact hurt at first, but the cold from the ointment and Blaine’s miraculous hands immediately calmed the pain.

“Mmmm, that feels good” Sam admitted, letting himself fall in the comfort that his boyfriend’s hands always provided.

“There” Blaine said when he finished and he put his arms around Sam’s neck from behind to rest a loving kiss on his cheek. “You’ll feel better in no time”

“Thank you, sweetie” Sam answered as his hands rested on Blaine’s forearms that were still around his neck. “And now, are you going to rest once and for all?”

“Yeeeees” Blaine answered in a jokingly exasperated voice, but he still obeyed and sat down next to Sam, not wanting for the blond to worry. “But only if you stay here with me”

“Where else would I want to go?” Sam answered in all honesty while fondly pinching Blaine’s cheek, needing his company just as much as the other way around, so he suddenly had a great idea. “Why don’t you lean against my chest, love? You’ll be warmer and more comfortable that way”

“I thought you were never going to ask” Blaine joked as he waited until Sam separated his legs to get in between them so he could rest his back against Sam’s chest, only to be immediately enveloped in his warm arms. “Oh, that feels nice” he said, practically purring as Sam started caressing his hair. “It will be your fault if I fall asleep”

“Don’t worry, I would never dare blaming you for that after the day you had” Sam added, not adding how it was exactly his purpose to get Blaine to sleep as soon as possible. “How are your lungs, by the way?”

“Good as new” Blaine answered, and Sam knew he was being honest as he hadn’t coughed for hours.

“You think now it’s the time for me to reprimand you for your little stunt at the house?” Sam said, only half joking, but with the tenderness which he kept running his fingers through Blaine’s curls, the latter knew he was not really angry anymore.

“I would rather not” he joked, hoping to distract him for the scolding he knew was coming.

“You could have been seriously hurt” Sam said, more seriously this time. “If you had listened to me…”

“If I had listened to you I wouldn’t have been able to pack that ointment, you know? Or more importantly, I would have never seen Marley going to the basement and you guys wouldn’t have made it in time to get her out of there, so I can’t say I regret it” Blaine honestly answered before his voice broke a little. “I can’t lose any more people”

“And we’re not going to” Sam assured him before he could stop to think that was a promise he didn’t know if he could keep. But all he wanted in that moment was to reassure his kind-hearted boyfriend and put his heart at ease so he could rest as he needed, so he glued his lips to Blaine’s temple and made sure that he knew everything that he felt for him. “I love you”

“I love you too” Blaine answered gratefully, closing his eyes to enjoy the moment more deeply as his own hands rested on Sam’s arms to caress them up and down.

“That doesn’t mean I’m not still angry at your disobedience” Sam reminded him in a mischievous tone.

“Yes, sir” Blaine answered with a chuckle. “Will you forgive me if I give you a kiss?”

“Try” Sam dared him with a smile, and he looked amusedly at Blaine when the latter fell for his provocation and turned around to capture his lips with his own. “No, I’m still a bit annoyed” Sam continued to joke, to which Blaine smiled and rushed to kiss him again, more deeply this time, until he could feel Sam melt against him. “Ok, I forgive you”

“I knew you’d cave in” Blaine joked before giving a last peck to Sam’s perfect lips and then he let himself fall on Sam’s chest again, on his side this time so he could put his own arm around Sam’s waist and feel him closer.

“Hey, what do you think it’s wrong with Artie?” Sam said after a few minutes of companionable silence, making sure to keep his voice low so only Blaine would hear.

“I don’t know…” Blaine answered while shaking his head. “He got too sick and too quickly for a simple cold, right?”

“Maybe there are some other illnesses around?”

“Let’s hope not. Maybe it’s the flu or something like that. I wish we had some medicines to help him”

“Oh my God, we have to go back!” Sam practically yelled all of a sudden.

“What?” Blaine asked in fear, lifting himself from Sam’s body so he would be able to look at him.

“Your medicines!” Sam explained, his face distorted with the anxiety of thinking that Blaine would not overcome his illness thanks to his carelessness. “We need them, you’re not in full health yet, and you still haven’t beaten your infection completely!”

“Relax, honey” Blaine said, cupping Sam’s cheeks in his hands to make him look at him. “I took them. They’re here in the backpack”

“Oh, thank God” Sam answered in deep relief before cupping the back of Blaine’s head to kiss his lips in mild desperation. “That’s why I love you”

“And I love you just for that” Blaine answered as he gratefully embraced Sam strongly to him.

Sam reciprocated the embrace for a couple of minutes, and then he rearranged their positions until he was resting his back against a showcase and Blaine was lying on his chest again, where he could keep him warm and make sure he would rest. In fact, he knew his constant caresses with the tip of his fingers in his scalp and the back of his neck were making him drowsy, so Sam didn’t try to engage him in any more conversations that would keep him awake. Instead, he contented himself with looking around him, where everybody was already sitting around the gas lantern too –or using it to warm what would be their supper, as Unique– and listened to the quiet conversations starting.

“How is he?” he heard someone ask in a whisper next to him, and he turned his head around to discover Sebastian sitting next to him.

“Just exhausted” Sam answered as his gaze turned irremediably towards the smaller boy against his chest, who had already closed his eyes, and rearranged the blankets around him to practically bury him under them.

“I’m glad he’s doing fine” Sebastian agreed with a smile as he also sent a fond look at his not-so-asleep friend.

“Don’t talk about me as if I wasn’t here, I can still hear you” Blaine intervened, still awake even if his voice sounded slightly slurred, eliciting a hearty laugh from the other two boys.

But before either one of them could answer their attention was caught but the worry of Kitty’s voice.

“Guys, Artie is shivering like crazy and he’s got the highest fever” Kitty said, looking desperately at their friends, hoping somebody could offer some help.

“I’m alright, Kitty, is just a cold” Artie protested, but the girl only shushed him, knowing not a thing he could say was going to put her mind at rest.

Mike got up from his place and kneeled in front of Artie. After checking his temperature he frowned, and then he rested his hand on Artie’s thigh.

“We don’t know what’s wrong with you, so I guess the only thing we can do is treat the symptoms. Your fever is very high and that’s the first thing we need to take care of, so I’m afraid we’re going to have to lose the blankets” Mike said, looking sympathetically at his friend.

“But I’m so cold” Artie protested, holding the blankets more closely to his body.

“I know, but that just means your fever is still rising, and we can’t have that” Mike insisted, and he didn’t wait to convince Artie before taking the blankets from him in one quick movement.

“Is that really necessary?” Kitty asked, her heart breaking at how Artie’s shivering seemed to increase in just a second.

“It is, if we don’t want the fever to climb to a dangerous point” Mike answered and he was about to go grab some cold water to cool Artie’s skin when a stain on his recently uncovered legs caught his attention. “What’s that?”

“Oh, that’s the blood from the walker I killed when he was trying to bite Artie” Puck answered, vividly remembering how close they had come to devouring their friend.

His heart in his throat, and hoping against hope that his suspicion would be wrong, Mike carefully lifted Artie’s pants. And his heart skipped a bit at what he found.

“Mike?” Kitty asked, having noticed the change in the boy’s expression. “What’s wrong?”

“Artie” Mike started, trying to take control of his voice in spite of how much it was shaking. “Artie, you were… you were bitten”

“What?” Artie asked, not wanting to believe even if he could see the terrified expressions of all his friends, the tears starting to appear into their eyes, their hands covering their mouths as if to muffle a scream.

“It’s not possible, I killed that walker” Puck protested as he jumped on his feet, as if suddenly he couldn’t stay still.

“Apparently it bit him before that” Mike lamented as he lowered the leg of Artie’s pant in surrender, knowing there was nothing they could do for him.

“But how didn’t he realize until now?” Puck asked in anger before he could stop himself.

“Because it was in my leg and I can’t feel anything” Artie answered in a surprisingly calm voice.

“No” Kitty said before breaking into full sobs. “No, no, no, no!”

“Kitty, it’s okay” Artie said in a reassuring voice as he took the petite girl in his arms.

“But Artie, we can’t…” Mike tried to say, even if he couldn’t find the right words to tell his friend that he was going to die and there was nothing they could do for him.

“I know” Artie interrupted him with a nod of his head as he continued rubbing Kitty’s back in an attempt of comfort. “I know”

Silence only broken by a few muffled sobs fell on the place, as no one knew what to do or say: Artie was sentenced and there was nothing anybody could do for him.

“Shit!” Puck shouted, anger and guilt making him kick the nearest wall, and the only thing he achieved was to increase the sobbing of those who were already crying.

“Hey, don’t” Artie said, just as calmly as before, as he seemed to be the only one willing to accept his fate. “I never thought I’d made it this far anyway”

“Artie…” Marley tried to say, but Artie didn’t want to listen, just in case it broke his resolution.

“No, listen to me” he interrupted the girl. “Thank you for keeping me alive for so long, you’re all the best friends anyone could ask for. I love you, guys. I’m so proud of you”

“Artie, I’ll… I’ll do it for you” Puck, his eyes filled with tears he refused to shed because of the guilt eating him, offered. He knew it would be the hardest thing he had ever done, but Artie didn’t deserve to die alone.

“No” Artie immediately refused. “I need to do this myself”

“Are you sure?” Puck insisted with a lump on his throat.

“Yeah” Artie confidently answered. “I only need you to open the door for me”

Puck nodded and wordlessly moved to the door followed by his brother to move aside some of the furniture they had used to block it.

“Artie…” Blaine said, looking intently at his friend as he lifted himself from Sam’s body.

“I don’t want to say goodbye, ok?” Artie asked, and of course no one had the heart to contradict him and they preferred to respect his last wish.

Artie silently broke the embrace with the former cheerleader still crying on his chest. Cupping her face with his hands, he dried some of the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs and then he slowly brought her face to him and joined their lips in a sweet kiss, his heart breaking at the missed opportunity of exploring those feelings they had recently begin to experience towards each other.

And then, without another word, he turned to the door and disappeared from the place.

Marley ran to embrace Kitty, who had been left unmoving on the floor as she sobbed desperately, and both girls cried for their friend while a few others joined them in silence.

And the silence was only broken a few minutes later when a shot was heard in the distance.

“You said we weren’t going to lose anyone else” Blaine whispered with no trace of reproach in his voice as he left himself be enveloped in Sam’s embrace.

And just as everybody else, the two boys remained crying in each other’s arms until dawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to continue!


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I can keep apologizing... But please, don't give up on me, I'm still here, struggling to keep going in spite of all the difficulties! I will make it!

Blaine felt the cold even before he dared opening his eyes, even if he was tightly wrapped in two blankets that only left his head uncovered. He was surprised he wasn’t engulfed in Sam’s embrace anymore –that fact contributing to the cold in his body and in his heart–, but he had been so exhausted the day before, and they had spent so much time just crying in each other’s arms until dawn, that it was probably quite late and Sam had left him to sleep as he got up to start the day.

Just thinking about Artie brought fresh tears to Blaine’s eyes, even if his eyes already felt sticky because of the ones he had shared just before falling asleep. He was gone. Just like that. He had been bitten right in front of their eyes and no one had been able to stop it or even realized for a whole day. Blaine tried to reason with himself and admit that they wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it even if they had known from the beginning, but still… It was so unfair…

He quickly dried the tears from his eyes –he was not the only one hurting, he didn’t have the right to dwell on his sadness while the others got everything done– and finally managed to open them. He was surprised to find himself alone, with none of his friends around to tell him what was happening. His heart filling with dread, he managed to sit up, desperate to find some answers about the whereabouts of the only people left in his world, and he almost got a heart attack when a strong voice sounded behind him.

“Morning, Squirt”

“Gosh, Coop” Blaine protested as he instinctively brought a hand to his heart as if he was trying to control his heartbeat, turning around to look at his brother, who had been sitting behind him all alone –of course Blaine would never be left alone in his condition, he should have known that–. “Don’t ever scare me like that again”

“I’m sorry, buddy” Cooper immediately apologized, moving closer to his brother so he could rearrange the blankets and put them around his shoulders now that he was sitting up when he noticed the younger boy starting to shiver at the morning cold of the gas station.

“Where is everybody?” Blaine asked, smiling gratefully at his big brother for his constant attentions. Gosh, how he had missed him!

“They… uhm… they went to retrieve Artie’s body to bury it” Cooper hesitantly explained, not wanting to cause his brother even more pain than the one already reflected in his big eyes but knowing he couldn’t lie to him. “They’re probably paying their respects to him right now”

“I should be there too” Blaine lamented while shaking his head and breaking Cooper’s heart all along.

“You need your rest and everybody knows that. And as I hardly knew him, we decided it would be appropriate for me to be the one to stay here with you so all the others could go. Although it was not that easy to convince Sam to leave your side even if it was only for while” Cooper explained with an amused smile that told Blaine how he was only half joking –and knowing Sam and how protective he was, he could totally believe it.

“I still can’t believe we lost Artie just like that” Blaine said, furiously drying a stray tear that had found its way down his cheek before he could stop it.

“I know” Cooper understandingly answered as he put his arm around his brother’s shoulder to side-embrace him, trying to offer some kind of comfort. “It’s so sad and unfair… But we have to go on”

“I know… But if you or Sam…” Blaine tried to say, but his voice broke down before he could voice his deepest fear. Not that his brother needed to hear his words to understand it.

“We’ll be alright” Cooper tried to reassure him, squeezing him more strongly to his side until Blaine rested his head on his shoulder, his heart breaking at the obvious fact that Blaine was much more afraid to lose either one of them than about his own life. “Just as you’ll be. We’ll protect each other”

“Ok” Blaine answered, and even he could see how little convinced he sounded. After all, they all had been protecting Artie too and he was now gone. But he didn’t have the energy to keep talking, or even think, so he disentangled from his brother’s embrace and lied down again. “I think I’m going to sleep some more, I’m still so tired”

“Of course” Cooper answered understandingly, fondly ruffling his little brother’s hair for a second. Even if he was really tired or he just wanted to escape from reality for a bit longer, Cooper could understand, and he would gladly grant him his wish, he thought as he tucked the blankets more securely around his little brother’s form.

**********

Blaine realized he might indeed have dozed off again when he didn’t feel a presence near him until there were some lips resting the sweetest kiss to his temple.

“Hey” Sam’s familiar and comforting voice sounded impossibly close to his ear, so Blaine forced himself to open his eyes to look at the person he loved the most in the world.

“Hey” Blaine answered, even offering a small smile that he was sure wasn’t reaching his eyes, as he sat up to give a quick peck to Sam’s lips that somehow turned into a long and slow kiss meant to reassure them both of the love they shared.

“Did you have some breakfast?” Sam asked once the kiss broke, resting his forehead against his boyfriend’s as if he was not ready to separate from him yet.

“No, I’m not hungry” Blaine answered before he could stop himself, though he knew that wasn’t going to be a satisfactory answer for his worrier of a lover.

“Well, you need to eat something in order to take your medicines” Sam unsurprisingly replied as he finally separated from Blaine, although just enough to reach a plate he had left near while he woke him up. “And you’re going to need all the energy you can get”

“Alright” Blaine easily agreed, even if eating was the last thing in his mind, if only because he wanted to make it easy on Sam, and he took the plate from his hands to start eating.

“Thank you” Sam honestly said as Blaine took the first bite, very well understanding he was only doing it for him.

“Cooper said… Did you…?” Blaine tried to ask, though his voice faltered before he could even finish his question. Fortunately for him, Sam knew him like the back of his hand and could easily guess what he had been trying to ask.

“Yeah, we couldn’t just leave him there” Sam answered with a grave tone as his hand tenderly squeezed Blaine’s thigh in a poor attempt of comfort. After all, he had been able to say his goodbyes to their friend, or kind of, while Blaine had been left behind.

“How… how did it go?”

“We kind of did a funeral… Like the one you threw for Ryder”

“How’s everybody?” Blaine asked, and Sam’s heart warmed at the familiarity of Blaine worrying about everyone –at least some things never changed, even in a hell like that, right?

“They’re hanging on” Sam tried to reassure his boyfriend while taking his hand in his and entwining their fingers together. “Kitty is… having a hard time, but I’m sure she’ll make it with time. She’s a strong girl”

“I should have been there” Blaine lamented while his eyes got slightly glassy with unshed tears and Sam’s heart broke at the image.

“Hey, you need to take care of yourself, and that is more important than anything else” Sam rushed to say, and it sounded as if he had been expecting Blaine’s words and had the answer ready to comfort him –and to know Sam knew him so well and cared so much about his feelings warmed Blaine’s heart a thousand times more than any words could do. “Artie would have told you that himself”

“I know” Blaine agreed with a sad smile, this time being him the one to squeeze Sam’s hand to let him know he was alright.

“Then don’t think about it” Sam said as he put his arm around Blaine to bring him closer and kissed his forehead in a comforting gesture. “You can say your goodbyes to him internally… Or you can voice your thoughts and I will listen to them if it’s of any help”

Blaine smiled in appreciation of Sam’s constant need to make everything easier for him, and he was going to reciprocate all his love with a kiss when they were interrupted by Puck.

“Here” Puck said in a serious tone as he wheeled Artie’s chair until it was in front of Blaine. “You should use it, Blaine”

“What? No” Blaine instinctively refused before he could even begin to think how much sense it made for him to use it.

“I know it feels all kinds of wrong, but… it isn’t” Puck sadly added, trying to convince him even if he knew it wouldn’t be easy for him either if he was in his situation. “It doesn’t make sense leaving it here to root when you could use it”

“No, Puck, I…”

“Blaine, Artie would have wanted for you to use it” Puck interrupted Blaine even before he could begin to protest. “You know how much he cared about his friends. Gosh, he wheeled himself a long way just in case some walkers could hear the shot so it wouldn’t bring them to us! If there was anything he could do to make it easier for the rest…”

“Still…” Blaine tried to protest, but again Puck was having none of it.

“Look, I understand how you feel, but we’re going to need to walk a lot today. You know you won’t be able to hang on for long in your state, and that Sam or Cooper will eventually need to help you or even carry you again. Why don’t you make it easier on them, even if you won’t do it for yourself?” Puck knew it was a dirty trick, he had seen enough of the boy to know it would be easier to convince him to do something through the people he loved. But he didn’t care, he wanted to make it as easy as possible on his friends and he would say whatever was needed to accomplish it.

Blaine sighed in what seemed like surrender before turning to look at his boyfriend’s face, as if asking him for his opinion. After all, he was probably going to be the one to pay the consequences of his decision the most –or in other words, the one that would end up carrying him around if he couldn’t go on–, so he should have a say in it.

“Puck is right” Sam said as he unconsciously played with a stray curl on Blaine’s forehead. “You need it. And using it doesn’t make you a bad person, you know. Artie would be glad that some good came out of his passing”

“Alright” Blaine finally surrendered, knowing he didn’t have any arguments to refute Puck’s and Sam’s words, even if it still didn’t feel right. But as Puck had said, if there was any way to make it easier on Sam and Cooper, after everything they had done for him, he had to take it. “I’ll use it”

“Good” Sam agreed with a reassuring kiss to his cheek. “And now let’s get this breakfast into you so we can keep going”

*********

For once, nobody tried to convince the others to stay in the place. Even if they knew Blaine was really not up to travel, the little shop in the gas station was not a safe place: one of the walls was completely made of glass, which meant they could easily be seen from outside, and an attack from other people would be too easy if they thought they could have something useful to steal. Even the walkers could break in if they somehow managed to break the glass if too many of them piled up on it –as they already did with the fence back at McKinley–. Plus it was a very cold place, and they doubted they could really get any rest if they couldn’t stop shivering.

So it wasn’t long before they were ready to leave. Blaine wordlessly got up from the floor thanks to Sam helping hand and moved to sit on Artie’s chair, trying not to dwell on how wrong and weird it felt. But when no one said a thing or even looked twice at him, Blaine understood they had talked about it prior giving the chair to them and all of them had agreed that it was the best solution. And knowing nobody was judging him and everyone cared so much for his wellbeing helped, if only a little.

Blaine took advantage of the fact that everyone was getting their bags and backpacks on their backs to start wheeling ahead of them, not wanting to give anyone –mostly Sam and Cooper– the chance to push the chair for him when he could perfectly do it. It wasn’t as easy as it looked, though, as he didn’t have the years of practice Artie had –and even then, the other boy had needed help after a while too–, and he hadn’t moved for more than five minutes when the cramps in his arms couldn’t be ignored anymore and he was forced to stop.

He raised his gaze as he tried to regain his breath, and he was surprised to see Sam standing next to him, looking sardonically at him as if he had been expecting exactly that to happen. But Blaine knew he shouldn’t be surprised: after all, it was strange that Sam hadn’t even tried to help him when they started moving, so he was probably just waiting until Blaine would realize what a fool he was being on his own.

“You about done?” Sam asked, arms crossed over his chest while looking sarcastically at him with an obnoxious smirk on his face.

“Yeah” Blaine relented while looking down to avoid his boyfriend’s gaze, obviously embarrassed about having made a fool of himself.

“It’s easier to push it, you know” Sam said, all joking aside immediately as he moved behind Blaine’s chair to help him with it, only taking a second to kiss the top of his head in a comforting gesture before starting to push him. “Plus I want to take care of you”

“You’ve already done so much” Blaine lamented, stretching his neck all the way back so he could see Sam’s face over him, and was rewarded with another kiss, this time to his forehead.

“Well, then let me a little more”

“But…”

“You’d do the same for me” Sam interrupted him before he got too driven away. After all, he could perfectly understand how vulnerable and useless the situation made Blaine feel, especially considering he had been the leader and the strongest of the bunch until then. But Blaine had selflessly taken care of him in that hospital, and anything that Sam did for him would never compensate that. “Hell, you did the same for me, and I wasn’t even awake to thank you”

“You would have complained too if you had been awake” Blaine only half-joked, knowing Sam had the same independent and strong nature that he had and would have hated to know someone was taking care of him like that.

“Ok, you might have a point there” Sam agreed with a chuckle and a last squeeze to Blaine’s shoulder before resuming their pace so as not to be left behind the rest of the group.

Without having to adjust themselves to Blaine’s slow pace from the day before, the group was managing to make a good time in their walking. They were still lost in the middle of nowhere, though, and that thought was so scary that hardly anybody found the motivation to talk. After all, they had decided to travel but not under those circumstances: not on foot and surely not while Blaine was still not up for travelling. They only wished they would get somewhere soon to rest and protect themselves for a few days until the circumstances improved.

Sebastian turned around after a while to check on Blaine, still worried about his condition after the extreme effort he had been forced to make the day before, and he was glad to find him in a much better condition than the day before thanks to the fact he didn’t need to walk. Blaine caught his worried gaze and sent him a grateful smile, moved that his friend would worry so much about him, but before Sebastian could reciprocate the gesture, something far away behind Blaine and Sam caught his attention.

“There are walkers following us” Sebastian said, his voice suddenly full of a fear that made everyone turn around to check that what he was saying was true.

“Schhhh” Cooper tried to shush the youngsters when they started getting nervous and talking louder than before at the discovery.

“Coop, did you know about it?” Blaine asked, having noticed the lack of surprise in his brother at the news.

“They’ve been following us practically from the beginning” Cooper explained, resuming his walking and expecting everyone just to follow him, which they did.

“What?” Jake asked, too loudly for Cooper’s taste.

“Keep your voice down!” he admonished him in a whisper.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Blaine asked with no trace of reproach in his voice, as he knew how sensible his brother was so he was sure he had a good reason.

“Because there was no reason for getting everybody nervous” Cooper explained, and Blaine’s heart warmed at how Cooper worried and took care of everyone, even if he hardly knew them. “They’re slow, much slower than us. They will never catch us if we keep up this pace. It’s the ones scattered around this area that should worry us, and that’s why we need to be silent”

“They’ll catch us if we stop” Sam added, looking worriedly at Blaine, who would need to rest sooner or later even in spite of the chair.

“We won’t be able to stop unless we find somewhere to stay, I’m afraid” Cooper lamented, perfectly understanding –and sharing– Sam’s worries about his little brother.

“Then we will keep going” Blaine intervened, trying to reassure the other two that he would be alright and they didn’t need to worry about him. Even if he perfectly knew they would worry anyway.

They unconsciously started walking even faster than before, wanting to put a bigger distance between the walkers and themselves even if they knew that what Cooper said was true, and it was highly improbable that the walkers could catch them. But knowing those monsters were following them made them feel at ease, and only the fact that they knew there could be more of them around, closer, kept them from screaming their frustrations.

Pushing Blaine’s chair was surely easier than carrying him on his back, but after doing it with no rest for so long it started becoming a heavy task for Sam too. Not that he was going to complain, of course: as Cooper had said, they couldn’t possibly stop. And even if he knew he could ask for somebody to relieve him of his task, he didn’t want Blaine to think he wouldn’t do anything in the world to take care of him, after everything he had done for him. He didn’t have any intention of delegating his task to anybody else, but just the thought of keeping pushing the chair all day made him sigh tiredly before he could stop himself. He wished Blaine wouldn’t notice. But of course he was not going to be so lucky.

“You tired, honey?” Blaine immediately asked, turning his head back to look into Sam’s face, just in case his boyfriend decided to lie about it.

“No, I’m okay” Sam immediately answered, as Blaine was expecting, in a joking tone to sound more convincing. “Do I need to remind you how not heavy you are, my sweet tiny boyfriend?”

“He might be tiny, but he gets heavy after a while” Cooper intervened, also joking but making it perfectly clear he was not buying Sam’s pretence. “Let me push the chair for a while”

“No, I can do it” Sam insisted, not even stopping in case Cooper decided to take the matter into his own hands and push him away from the chair.

“I know you can, but your arms are going to kill you tomorrow. Let me help”

“No, really, I’m ok”

“Sam” Blaine intervened, knowing he was going to need to use a little persuasion –or even manipulation– to convince him. “Why don’t you let Cooper push me for a while and you walk next to me? I haven’t seen your face all morning and I miss you”

Even though Sam could clearly see what Blaine was doing, he couldn’t help but sigh and surrender. After all, his arms and his back were starting to hurt, and walking alongside his boyfriend instead of behind him suddenly sounded like the greatest idea ever.

“You manipulative bastard…” Sam mumbled loud enough for Blaine to hear it while he finally let go of the chair, which made the latter chuckle, and as soon he saw Blaine’s sweet smile he realized how much he’d missed seeing his face too. “But I’ve missed you too” he confessed while taking his hand in his.

“I knew it” Blaine joked, pretending to be so full of himself, but he still squeezed Sam’s hand in his to let him know he was just fooling around and how grateful he was for all his help.

“How are you feeling?” Sam asked, noticing how the color still had to return to Blaine’s usually golden cheeks and how dark the bags under his eyes still were even if he had slept a few hours.

“I’m good” Blaine answered, and he sounded honest enough. It was probably just a matter of time until he got completely well, right? “Much better than yesterday now that I don’t have to walk”

“You still should be resting” Sam lamented with a sigh as he gently caressed Blaine’s pale cheek with his free hand. “You’re still not up to this. You still…”

“I know, Sam” Blaine interrupted him before he could work himself up, but he brought the blond’s hand to his lips to kiss its knuckles in gratitude. “But we don’t have another option”

“Fuck, I know” Sam answered with a soft voice in spite of the pain in his heart and how much it made him want to scream, even if Blaine knew better.

“But hey, I’m going to be okay, you know? I promise”

“It should be me trying to encourage you to resist and not the other way around” Sam replied with a sad chuckle, as usual marveled at Blaine’s courage and strength.

“Knowing you care and worry so much about me encourages me more than enough” Blaine tried to reassure him in total honesty. After all, only a few days ago Sam was afraid of admitting his feelings for him, and now he never failed to demonstrate to him how much he loved him in any occasion he got.

Sam didn’t move an inch from Blaine side from then on as the latter’s big brother pushed the chair, both of them relinquishing in the pleasure of holding hands and being close enough to have a quiet and silly conversation for once –and even exchange some sweet smiles and quick kisses under the amused and fond gaze of Cooper.

Only a soft thud and a surprised yelp broke their enchantment, and they turned around in surprise to find Sebastian lying face-first on the ground.

“Seb! You okay?” Blaine asked, immediately worried even if he could hear some of the others trying to stifle their laughs at the ridiculous incident. After all, it just seemed as if Sebastian had managed to trip with some minuscule rock.

“Fuck!” Sebastian exclaimed embarrassedly as he sat up, but he saw Blaine’s worried expression and he rushed to reassure him he was alright. “Yes, I’m okay, I just tripped”

“Guess we now know who the clumsiest one of the group is” Puck intervened, and this time some of the others weren’t able to help it anymore and openly laughed at Sebastian’s antics.

“Ha ha ha, you’re so funny, Puckerman” Sebastian answered, his voice a funny mixture of annoyance and embarrassment.

“You sure you’re okay?” Trent asked after having a good laugh, worried about his friend even if the situation seemed so funny. “You didn’t hurt an ankle or anything?”

“No, just my pride” Sebastian answered, finally smiling himself as he shook the dust out of his hands. “Help me up, will you?”

“Don’t move” Cooper suddenly intervened, cryptically keeping his voice down as he extended a hand in front of him to reinforce his words and stop him from making any move.

“Why?” Sebastian asked, his face the mask of confusion even if he obeyed.

“There is a rattlesnake just behind you” Cooper answered, and it wasn’t until silence fell amongst all of them with shock that they could clearly hear its sound.

“What?” Sebastian exclaimed in panic, but somehow he managed not to move or even raise his voice, trusting Cooper to tell him what to do.

“If you move it might feel cornered and attack you, and it’s very poisonous. One of them killed one of the people from my plane” Cooper explained, his voice almost a whisper as he tried to keep the kids –and the snake– calm.

“Coop, what can we do?” Blaine asked, not even trying to belie the fear he was feeling for his friend, and Sam rested a gentle hand on his shoulder to keep him from panicking. “Should we…?”

“No!” Cooper shushed him to stop him, afraid his little brother would make a wrong move in his need to help his friend. “Nobody moves”

Maybe it was the fact that Cooper sounded so confident; maybe it was because he was older and thereafter more experienced; or maybe it was because he was an Anderson and they had already seen what those were capable of. But the thing was that nobody moved a muscle under Cooper’s command and they patiently waited until he very carefully took a couple of steps to the side to get a better angle and then he swiftly got his gun out of his waistband and shot at the snake in one quick movement, killing it instantly even if the snake was already in the middle of the jump to attack Sebastian.

Everybody remained rooted to the place in shock for a second, thinking about how close they had been to losing Sebastian, but it was again Cooper who made them react.

“Run!” he shouted to get the others into motion, making them understand that the inevitable shot would have alerted all the walkers around to come to their encounter.

Sam didn’t hesitate to put himself behind Blaine’s chair again and started pushing while he ran, glad to hear the others also starting to move all around them. They didn’t have any time to waste, and now that a lot of walkers were going to appear from the trees surrounding the main road, he was sure of that, they would need to find a way to give the skip to them, as they couldn’t keep running forever and the walkers, even if they were slow, never stopped.

They hadn’t covered a long distance when the wheelchair carrying Blaine, which had clearly not been designed to be pushed with that high a speed over such an unstable terrain, gave away and lost one of his wheels, sending both Blaine and Sam to the ground with the unexpectedness of it.

Blaine had hardly hit the ground before his brother’s hands were already grabbing him under the armpits to get him on his feet.

“Are you alright?” Cooper asked, wincing at the angry-looking scratch on Blaine’s cheek from when he had hit the ground, though fortunately he didn’t seem to have been injured further than that.

“Sam!” Blaine yelled, unintentionally ignoring his brother as he watched his boyfriend still on the ground, groaning in spite of himself as he held his left shoulder with the opposite hand.

“I’m alright” Sam rushed to answer as Blaine’s panicked face suddenly appeared in front of him as the smaller boy ran to kneel at his side. “I just hit my shoulder, but I don’t think it’s dislocated. You?”

“Let me see it” Blaine begged, not even remembering to answer as he tried to move Sam’s clothes to the side so he could check his shoulder, but once again his brother’s hands grabbed him and stopped him from it.

“We don’t have time for that now” Cooper said, already throwing Blaine’s arm around his shoulders so he could help him on their escape, only once he saw that Puck and Kitty were helping Sam to his feet.

They had only taken a couple of steps when Sam, already on his feet and acting as if there was nothing wrong with him, made them stop for a second so he could take Blaine’s other arm around him and help him from his other side, his arm closing immediately around the curly-haired boy’s waist to give him better balance. Of course he wasn’t going to let others take care of Blaine for him if he could help it, Cooper thought with a smile, feeling grateful that his brother had found someone who cared about him so much even in a situation like that.

“Let’s go” Sam confidently said.

Practically carrying the smaller boy between the other two, they continued running with the rest of their friends. The distance with the walkers following them was getting increasingly bigger as they ran, but the bigger problem were those other walkers coming out of the woods, having been alerted by the shot and the noise they were making now as they ran, as they were much closer to them, and they were starting to get tired.

“Gosh, look!” Marley exclaimed, getting everybody’s attention ahead of them.

The rainstorm from the days before –and which already had forced them to leave the house they had considered a home for some days– seemed to have been even worse in that area, and the force of the water, even if it was already mostly gone, had caused a portion of the road to cave in a good drop.

“That’s great!” Cooper exclaimed with a smile in his face. “That will keep the walkers at bay”

“It could be dangerous” Trent protested, hesitantly, as they had no idea how stable that terrain could be. “We don’t know what we will find down there!”

“But we know what we will find up here, so come on!” Cooper insisted, and he let go of his brother to sit on the edge of the drop and jump.

“Coop!” Blaine practically screamed, and only Sam’s arm around him kept him from trying to grab his big brother and falling after him.

“I’m alright, see?” Cooper said from down the pitch, looking reassuringly towards his brother. “And now come on, I’ll help you”

“Cooper, are you really sure…?” Sebastian tried to ask, still not convinced, but the yelp coming from Mike at having to kill a walker that had been very close to bite Santana from behind stopped him.

“Guys, I don’t have the time to convince you, jump right now!” Cooper ordered with the authority that his older age gave him, and the kids immediately obeyed and jumped from the edge just as Cooper had done, helping each other so nobody would end up hurt.

As soon as everyone was down, they started running towards the other side of the pitch, knowing it was just a matter of time that the walkers would also jump behind them. Getting out of the drop again was not going to be so easy, but they knew it meant being safe so they would do whatever it took.

“I’m going up first so I can help you from up there” Sam told his boyfriend, knowing there was no way Blaine would be able to climb that far in his weakened state even if he helped him from below. “Puck, help me up, please”

Puck obeyed and entwined his own hands together so Sam could rest his foot on them and jump while Puck was able to lift him as high as possible, so the blond could hopefully reach the edge and get all the way up. It was easier said than done, though, as Sam painful shoulder kept him from moving as easily was he would like. He ended up hanging from the edge, not strong enough to cover the rest of the distance, and only when Sebastian made it all the way up thanks to Trent’s help and was able to grab him from above, Sam was able to safely reach the top of the drop.

“Are you alright?” Blaine asked from all the way down, obviously worried about Sam’s struggles and the pain he could so obviously see in his face.

“Don’t worry, I’m…” Sam started to answer, but when he turned to look at the people still downstairs, he was appalled to see some of the walkers were starting to jump from the edge at the other end of the pitch, and if they didn’t get out of there immediately, they would end up stuck with them in there, which would undoubtedly turn the situation into tragedy. “Everybody up, come on!” Sam yelled, desperately. “Cooper, get Blaine up so I can lift him from here!”

Cooper didn’t hesitate to do what he was told and grabbed his brother to lift him up as much as he could. Of course it wasn’t that easy with Blaine because he couldn’t help that much in his situation, and he wasn’t able to propel himself up to reach Sam’s outstretched arms and the strategy of using Cooper’s hands –like Puck had done with Sam– didn’t work and Blaine fell to the floor before he could stop it.

“Come on!” Sam impatiently rushed them from his position, lying down on his stomach over the edge so he could reach his boyfriend’s hand more easily, even if he hadn’t managed to do so yet.

“We’re trying!” Cooper protested in frustration as he tried again to lift his brother enough while holding onto his legs, almost breaking down into tears of helplessness when he could hear the increasing babbling sound of the walkers coming closer to them yet still he couldn’t do anything to help.

“Ok, Sam, forgive me for this” Puck said before he climbed halfway on the wall until he could grab onto some root protruding from it and with a scream from the effort he was doing, he put one hand under Blaine’s bottom and pushed him up as much as he could while trying not to fall himself.

It wasn’t much, but it was just enough so Sam could grab on one of Blaine’s stretched arms before Puck could drop him. He was afraid of hurting his boyfriend because he was holding his whole weight by just one of his arms, but he couldn’t reach the other one as much as he tried. He tried pulling him, but he was not strong enough to lift him like that even if Blaine tried to help all he could with his strong legs against the wall. Fortunately for him, Sebastian was at his side in an instant, he was able to grab Blaine’s other arm and between them they were able to pull enough until Blaine was safely over the edge of the pitch.

Sam only had some strength left that he used to embrace Blaine tightly to his chest as Puck and Cooper were also helped all the way up, and he felt like he was never going to be able to let go of him now that he knew he was safe between his arms.

“For a moment I thought I wasn’t going to be able to embrace you again” Sam whispered in Blaine’s ear as he tried to regain his breath after the enormous effort they had done.

“I love you so much, Sammy” Blaine replied, gratefully reciprocating the embrace of the young man who had saved his life more times than he could count.

“Are you both alright?” Sebastian asked as he rested a gentle hand on each of their backs, having noticed how exhausted they both looked, and how Sam seemed to be in some kind of pain coming from his shoulder since the fall.

“Are you alright?” Blaine repeated, looking intently into his boyfriend’s eyes when the embrace broke, hoping not to find any kind of discomfort into them even if he knew his chances were slim. After all, he had seen Sam struggling to lift himself out of the pitch, and he knew it wouldn’t have been so difficult for him if his shoulder wasn’t hurting.

“I am now” Sam answered, only half lying because the relief he felt at having Blaine in his arms again muffled the pain considerably –if he didn’t move his arm too much.

Blaine decided to ignore Sam’s lie for a while, knowing he wouldn’t want to delay the others, and he gratefully cupped the blond’s cheek to attract his face closer so he could capture his lips in a sweet and grateful kiss that was soon interrupted.

“Come on, we don’t have time for this” Cooper gently reprimanded them, feeling bad for not giving them some time, which they obviously needed, but knowing they had other worries. “We have to overcome the next obstacle”

“What do you mean?” Unique asked in confusion.

Cooper didn’t answer with words this time, but all the eyes turned to what his finger was pointing: in front of them there was another missing piece of the road, but in this case, a flow of running water had found its way through it to the point it had formed practically a river. A dangerous river with a very fast volume of water. And it was the only direction they could go of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it was not supposed to end here, but it was getting sooooo long I had to divide all the action in two chapters... But at least this way I'm able to post sooner, right?


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was kind of difficult to explain the action in this chapter, so I hope you get the general idea of what is happening!

“Ok, who’s got a rope?” Cooper asked as he took his backpack off his back to check if he had one himself, even if he was practically sure he didn’t.

“You can’t be serious” Sam retorted before he could stop himself. The last thing he wanted was to antagonize Blaine’s older brother –both because he didn’t want to cause a rift between the brothers and because he had seen how trustworthy Cooper could be in difficult situations–, but surely he was being too optimistic, or even careless, at the moment. “Are you thinking about crossing the river?”

“You’ve got another idea?” Cooper asked, kind of insolently even if he tried to remain calm and patient with those youngsters.

“Have you noticed the force of the water?” Sam insisted, and he took a second to look at his boyfriend, more than slightly surprised at the fact that Blaine still had to say something –he usually was very clear about his opinions–. But just one look at his face and Sam could clearly see the conflict on his face, the debate inside his head whether he should trust his brother’s crazy but usually effective ideas or support Sam’s hesitation. He didn’t want to put any pressure on him, but there was not an opinion Sam trusted more than Blaine’s, so he needed to ask. “B, what are you thinking?”

“I don’t know” Blaine admitted, looking lost about what to think before turning to his brother for answers. “How are you planning on doing it?”

“We tie a rope around the person crossing, and the others hold it from the shore” Cooper explained as he started walking towards the water to inspect it more closely, motioning for the others to follow him. “I know the current seems strong, and it may be too much if we had to swim, but we can beat it on our feet, you know? We only have to walk carefully, trying for the current not to take us away. But even if we fell, the others will pull us out”

“How do you know it’s shallow enough for us to walk it through?” Trent asked, wanting to give Cooper’s idea a chance before refusing it completely.

“It can’t be that deep, look at that car on the middle of it” Cooper answered, pointing at a nearby car in the middle of the water that had gotten stuck behind a rock. “We wouldn’t see it if it was deep, right?”

“It could be piled on some rocks or other cars” Sebastian added, hating to go against Cooper but feeling the need to play devil’s advocate in everyone’s behalf.

“It’s not” Cooper answered confidently, trying to stay patient. “This is not even a real river, just some water that got out of control because of the storm”

“It may not have been a river before, but it surely looks like it now” Sam insisted, unconsciously squeezing Blaine’s body, still in his arms, more closely to him. Because how were they supposed to do something like that, especially considering how weak Blaine still was because of his shot wound?

“Guys, you know there is not another solution, right?” Cooper conveyed, slightly irritated by then by everybody’s doubts –couldn’t they see it was the only thing they could do? “We can’t possibly go back with all those walkers”

“We could kill them, from here, we’re good shooters” Puck suggested, even if he could see himself how feeble his argument sounded.

“And how many more are going to come if the shots attract them? And how long do you think our ammunition is going to last?” Cooper reasoned. “It’s only a matter of time until they manage to get up here, so we should not waste any more time”

“They won’t get here, they’re not that clever” Brittany intervened.

“Maybe not, but what if some of them fall and pile up and the others use them to go up? There are enough of them for that to happen” Cooper tried to make them see. “Can you guarantee that is not going to happen?”

Everybody remained silent as Cooper refuted every one of the other’s arguments as they all knew he would: they could see he was right, and they trusted him and his experience, but… what he was suggesting seemed such a crazy idea…

Cooper looked at the hesitation in every youngster face, how they wanted to agree but were afraid to do it. In the end his gaze reached his little brother’s face, and he looked intently at him as if trying to silently ask him for support. After all, he had heard all the others speak wonders about him and how he had been their leader until he got injured. Maybe if Blaine agreed to do it the others would follow him… Cooper’s heart broke at what he was asking of him, considering he could barely walk, but it was the only way to get him and all the others to safety, he knew that much. And he knew his brother understood when he nodded confidently at him before speaking.

“Let’s do it” Blaine said, his heart warming at the proud smile he could see in his brother’s face at his decision.

“But Blaine…” Sam immediately objected, though Blaine seemed to have been expecting it by the speed with which he interrupted him.

“Cooper is right, Sammy” Blaine gently put an end to his protests with a tender caress to his cheek. “There is no other way”

Just as Cooper had expected, everyone except for Sam got into action, incapable of disagreeing with a plan that had been devised and accepted by the Anderson brothers –they had seen enough of them to know they couldn’t trust anyone more than them–, and started searching for a rope in every one of their backpacks.

“I’ve got one!” Sugar happily exclaimed as she ran to give it to Cooper.

“It’s short” Cooper lamented as he took a good look at it.

“It’s the only one we’ve got” Unique added with a sad expression.

“It will have to do then” Cooper answered, trying to sound optimistic. “We’ll just have to walk a couple of steps into the water before tying it up around us, but we can do it”

That seemed to get Sam out of his stupor: no, no way. There was no way he was going to let Blaine get into the water without any kind of protection. As much as Cooper had tried to convince them otherwise, they didn’t know how deep it was going to get or how strong the current really was. And Sam wasn’t sure Blaine could do it even with the rope…

“Blaine can’t do it” Sam unsurprisingly objected again, the fear of losing him stronger than ever.

“The rope will hold him” Cooper answered confidently, even if it was not enough to put Sam’s mind at ease.

“The rope will keep him from being dragged away, but won’t keep him in the surface if he falls and right now he is not strong enough to swim against the current” Sam protested, not really able to understand how Blaine’s brother couldn’t see the danger he was putting him at. “What if he falls and he can’t get his head above the surface? Can you be sure you will be fast enough pulling him out of the water before he drowns?”

“I won’t fall” Blaine intervened, suddenly standing in front of him, the confident expression of his brother mirroring in his own face as he tried to convince his boyfriend.

“Blaine, you don’t know that” Sam insisted, needing to make him understand he appreciated his courage but it wasn’t going to be so easy. “The current is strong… and I’m afraid is much stronger than what you can deal with at the moment”

“So what can we do? We can’t stay here” Blaine insisted with a painful expression, showing Sam what his real fear was –and how he was not even thinking about his own safety.

“We’ll tie the rope around the both of us” Sam suddenly suggested, knowing the Anderson brothers were right about not being able to stay there, but the way Cooper immediately shook his head told him that would not be a solution either.

“That’s impossible, Sam, the rope is too short as it is, it can’t possibly tie around two people if we want it to reach the other shore” Cooper lamented, because it would have been the perfect solution if it had been possible.

“Then… we’ll get it around him and I’ll walk with him” Sam answered after some hesitation. He knew it was not an ideal situation, but he would make it work if it meant getting Blaine safely to the other side.

“Without a rope? You’re crazy” Blaine, unsurprisingly, protested with a sarcastic and humorless laugh, indignant just about the thought of putting Sam at risk like that.

“I’m strong and perfectly healthy, the current won’t drag me”

“You don’t know that, and I’m not risking it, Sam. Not in a million years”

“There is no other way, love” Sam tried to convince him, taking Blaine’s hand in his and looking at him with eyes full of love and by which Blaine tried not to be affected.

“No, Sam, I’m not risking losing my footing and have you fall with me” Blaine answered, shaking in head in negation as he closed his eyes, not even wanting to imagine if that happened.

“But I will be holding you the entire time!” Sam insisted, grabbing on Blaine’s arms to gently shake him so he would listen to him. “If we fall, I’ll just grab onto you and wait for the others to pull us out”

“And what if you let go?” Blaine insisted, his voice shaking at the possibility. “Who will stop you then?”

“That is not going to happen” Sam answered with the same confidence Blaine had used himself when trying to convince Sam he could do it.

“You’re right, that is not going to happen because we’re not doing it” Blaine stubbornly refused, crossing his arms over his chest to make more of an impression.

“Well, you either cross the river with me or we stay here, it’s up to you” Sam retorted, equally stubborn as he threw down his ultimatum. If Blaine thought he was going to be more headstrong than him…

“You don’t get to tell me what to do” Blaine answered, his low tone not being able to hide the anger inside of him. Who did Sam think he was, to make that kind of decisions for him?

“Neither do you to me” Sam answered calmly, not wanting to get into a battle of wills even if he wasn’t going to relent on that either –and he was not leaving room for argument–. “If I want to get in the water with you I will, and you can’t stop me. You can make it easier and safer by letting me hold onto you, but I will do it anyway even if I have to follow you”

“You damned stubborn mule…” Blaine angrily muttered under his breath as he turned around to give his back to Sam, not wanting to see the triumph on his face now that they both knew he had won.

“Oh, you want to talk!” Sam answered while trying to sound offended, though it was easier to detect the laughter in his voice.

“Are you two about done?” Puck sarcastically asked, trying not to laugh at Blaine’s indignant expression.

“Come on, we don’t have any more time to lose” Cooper encouraged them, failing to find the situation that funny if he got to think about what they –and especially his little brother– were about to do. “I’ll go first”

“Coop…” Blaine tried to protest, his worry speaking for him, and Sam forgot about their argument in an instant to rest a reassuring hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. If it was difficult for him, he didn’t even want to imagine how it was for Blaine, who had to worry about two people he dearly loved –his brother and Sam himself– instead of just one.

“It was my idea, Squirt, so I get to go first” Cooper answered, wanting it to sound as if it was a privilege instead of a risk. “I’ll tie the robe around me and you can all hold me from here until I get to the other side. The only difference in holding me from here is that, if I fall and you have to pull me out, I have to start again”

“Be careful” Blaine pleaded as he sadly watched his brother make a tight knot around his chest with the only rope they had, which was too short to even make it safely to the other side.

“Aren’t I always?” Cooper answered with a reassuring smile before resting a comforting kiss on Blaine’s forehead that looked too much like a farewell to the smaller boy. “Come on, who is going to hold the other end?”

“I will” Sebastian immediately offered, still grateful to Cooper for saving his life against the rattlesnake and also wanting to do everything he could to help his good friend Blaine feel better –even if that meant making sure his big brother would stay safe.

“So will I” Puck added as he moved to stand behind Sebastian.

“And me” Mike said as he also grabbed the robe, slowly looking more and more like his old self as days went by.

Sam was about to offer too, but one look at the devastated expression on Blaine’s face as he watched his brother tie the rope around him told him he would be needed somewhere else. With a sad sigh, he put his arm around Blaine’s upper body and held him close to his side, trying to offer some silent comfort to the smaller boy. The rope was too short anyway, and the more people holding onto it, the greater the distance Cooper would have to do without it would be. And he could always jump to help if it came to that, anyway.

“Ok, I’m going” Cooper said, confidently walking towards the edge. “I’ll see you in the other side”

Not waiting for an answer or a request to stay that would make him hesitate, Cooper sat on the floor and carefully let himself fall into the water. Blaine’s heart skipped a beat at the gesture, but fortunately Cooper had been right and the water only reached him a little above the knees.

“See, little brother?” Cooper said with his trademark arrogant smile, feigning he was just showing off for being right when in reality Blaine knew he was only trying to calm him down. “I could cross it with my eyes closed”

“Don’t” Sam intervened in a scolding tone, not wanting to prolong Blaine’s anxiety for one second longer than necessary. “Stop being an idiot and concentrate, please”

“Gosh, I managed to find the most annoying and unpleasant brother-in-law ever” Cooper muttered loud enough for all of them to hear, eliciting a few chuckles amongst the youngster that helped break the tension of the atmosphere a little –exactly what Cooper had been aiming for. “Ok, I’m going now”

Everybody held their breaths as Cooper started slowly walking through the water. The current was strong enough to have him fight it at every step, but his movements were confident and he didn’t seem to be having much trouble. That is, until he reached the middle of the so-called river. The level of the water was higher than his waist by then so it was becoming more and more careful difficult to fight against the current. Suddenly Cooper lost his footing and was swept away by the current.

Sam heard Blaine’s muffled agony as he brought a fist against his mouth to stop himself from screaming as he saw his brother being dragged by the water. Fortunately, Cooper was strong and agile, and he was able to grab on the car standing in the middle of the river and that they had seen from the beginning. Grabbing strongly into it, Cooper was able to firmly plant his feet onto the bed of the river again and shakily turned around to raise his thumb as a sign that he was alright.

Blaine’s eyes never left him, not even as Sam tenderly picked his fist into his own hand and made him open it to entwine their fingers together and held them against his heart, hoping to keep him from going into panic. And apparently he did, because Blaine didn’t make any other sound as Cooper resumed his walking and continued to the other shore.

Too soon for everybody’s taste, the rope reached its limit. Mike let go of it first, followed by Puck, until only Sebastian’s hands were on it.

“That’s it, there is no more rope” Sebastian screamed at the top of his lungs, hoping for his voice to reach Cooper’s ears above all the ruckus of the water. “We have to let go now!”

“Let go, I’m ready!” Cooper answered without even turning back, not wanting to risk getting swept away again.

With a heavy heart, Sebastian did as he was told and he couldn’t help a furtive glance towards Blaine, to see how he was fairing. And he saw that only the arm Sam kept around him and his warm fingers holding strongly onto his were keeping him from screaming, or jumping into the water behind his brother. Or even both of them. And Sebastian hoped that Cooper would be fast, and that he’d be alright, or he didn’t know if Blaine could survive it.

Cooper continued walking the little distance separating him from the other shore, and a collective gasp sounded around the youngsters watching him when he was close to lose his footing again. He regained his balance before falling, though, and in a couple more steps he was already grabbing the pavement of the other shore.

They all watched as he strongly fought to get himself out of the water and on the ground, and when he did, and he exhaustedly let himself fall on the safety of the pavement under him, a round of applause spontaneously broke amongst the others.

“He made it” Sam whispered with a relieved sigh, just before resting a comforting kiss on Blaine’s temple. “He made it, babe”

Blaine wasn’t able to find his voice to answer, but he nodded gratefully at his boyfriend before letting himself be engulfed in his embrace and willed his body to stop shaking.

“Let’s not waste any more time” Puck suddenly said and, before anyone else could react, he threw himself into the water.

“Puck!” Sam yelled in surprise, even if he knew it was what they all were going to do.

“Someone had to be the next one, right?” Puck said over his shoulder as the only explanation he was going to offer before carefully walking a couple more steps in the water. “Come on, Anderson, throw the rope at me!”

Cooper hadn’t been ready yet by any means, still exhausted by his own stunt, but at Puck’s yell he hurried to stand up and untie the robe from around his body so he could throw it at Puck. They hadn’t thought about that but, if Puck fell and Cooper had to get him out… it would not be easy, considering it was only a person. And Cooper thought that was probably why Puck had hurried so much, as he was probably the strongest of the bunch and the one with a greater probability of success without needing any help.

Puck waited immobile just before the rapids started, waiting for the security the robe would provide. And when Cooper made a lasso and threw the robe at him, it didn’t come even close enough for him to reach it.

“Let me try again!” Puck thought Cooper yelled, though it was hard to say with all the noise of the passing water. It had seemed easier from above, and Puck’s heart was beating at such a strong rhythm that he was sure a heart attack would kill him if the water didn’t do it first.

A soft splash some feet in front of him alerted him that Cooper had indeed thrown the robe at him again, much more accurately this time, but still it wasn’t enough to reach him.

“It’s too short!” Cooper yelled the words Puck had been dreading to hear. “You’re going to have to advance some more to reach it!”

His heart in his throat –as well as those of all the others–, Puck started moving forwards again. He could feel the increase in the speed of the water and, even if it wasn’t that deep, he knew he only needed one wrong move and he would be in trouble. And he wasn’t sure Cooper could hold him on his own against the current even if he managed to tie the rope around himself.

He was finally able to reach the lasso and hurried to put it around his chest, feeling a bit comforted by it, and continued under the watchful eyes of all the others. And just like it happened with Cooper, he had to use the car for balance at the most dangerous part. But also like Cooper, he recovered soon enough and was able to make it to the other shore amongst the cheers of his friends.

One by one all the kids started crossing the river. It proved quite difficult for Kitty or Marley, because of their low weight that proved of no resistance to the strong current, but the robe held them when they fell and they were dragged to the edge before any real damage was done. And, at the end, only Sam and Blaine remained at the other side.

Blaine had specifically wanted to wait until every one of his friends was at the other side before attempting it himself. He was very aware of how dangerous and difficult it was going to be to him, and he didn’t want to risk for him to not make it and the others getting demoralized before they were safe at the other side. Plus that way they were all there to pull at the robe if they had to get him and Sam out of the water, right?

“It’s our turn now” Sam’s encouraging by shaking voice took him out of his reverie. It was obvious how scared his boyfriend was but how hard he was trying to hide it so as not to bring their morale down, and Blaine loved him all the more for it.

“Promise me something” Blaine said, looking very serious as he turned around to face his lover, strongly grabbing onto his biceps to make more of an impression.

“What?” Sam asked in confusion, as he was sure they had already discussed everything they needed to discuss about how to proceed.

“If at any time you are at risk while trying to help me, you will let go of me and save yourself” Blaine answered, and he was so far of trying to sound heroic, just devoted and desperate, that it was all Sam could do not to break down in sobs.

“I’m not promising you that” Sam retorted with a humorless chuckle, as if he was indignant just to hear that kind of request.

“I’m not doing it if I know you can die because of me” Blaine insisted, and Sam’s heart broke when he noticed his eyes getting shiny with unshed tears, very well knowing they were for him.

“But Blaine…” he tried to refuse, even if he knew how stubborn his boyfriend was, especially about anything regarding to him and his safety –ever since he woke up from his coma, Blaine still hadn’t lost the need to make sure Sam was safe at all times, as if it was his responsibility.

“As you very well said, there is no way I can get to the other side on my own” Blaine interrupted him, leaving no room for arguments. “So if you die trying to save me, it won’t be worth it because I won’t make it on my own anyway, so at least I need to know you’re going to be alright”

“No, but…” Sam tried to protest. How dare Blaine think Sam’s life was worth more than his?

“Promise me” Blaine interrupted him again, more sternly this time even if it still wasn’t enough to content Sam.

“Blaine…”

“Just… promise me, Sammy”

Blaine’s voice broke into a half sob as a tear finally found its way down his cheek, and of course it was enough to break Sam’s resolution. After all, he had never been able to deny Blaine anything, much less now that there were tears in his eyes and his heartbreak was so evident. He knew Blaine would never give up until he made that promise. That didn’t mean he had to keep it anyway, right?

“Ok, I promise” Sam finally relented, taking Blaine into his arms to engulf him completely before he broke down, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time he would get to do that.

“I can’t do this without you” Blaine whispered in his ear, and Sam knew he was not referring to crossing the river but to the very real and constant fear he had about losing Sam.

“And you won’t have to” Sam confidently answered as he broke the embrace to cup Blaine’s cheek with one hand and entwine their fingers with the other. “Let’s just do it, ok?”

Blaine only nodded in response and closed his eyes for a second when Sam’s lips tenderly made contact with his temple for a second. Then, and before he was ready, he only got to watch as Sam carefully got into the water and motioned for him to sit on the edge so he could help him down to.

Blaine felt the strength of the water as soon as his feet made contact with the ground under it, and he would probably have ended falling if not for the strength of Sam’s hands still on his waist from helping him down. He quickly understood that Sam had been right from the beginning, and there was no way he could cross the river on his own. He just wished it didn’t end up costing them more than they were ready to pay –if something happened to Sam while trying to protect him… only his promise about not putting himself at risk was keeping Blaine sane at the moment.

“Come on, babe” Sam encouragingly said as he gently pushed him forward with his own body, having placed himself firmly behind Blaine with his arms keeping a strong grip around his waist to keep his balance.

Blaine obeyed, and wordlessly started moving his feet against the current, although he couldn’t say it was an easy task. He felt completely exhausted already from the way there since the wheelchair broke, and his weakness hardly let him fight against the current. He could feel the tension on Sam’s muscles, as he was probably as scared and doubtful about their chances as he was, and he wanted to tell him not to worry, that he would try his very best, even if the effort he was doing didn’t let him find his voice. So instead he had to content himself with putting his hands on the arms Sam was keeping around him and hold strongly onto them.

“We’re going to make it” Sam promised him in his ear, and Blaine was glad that his message had been understood.

They covered the less dangerous part of the river in a longer time than expected, and Blaine wondered how his brother would be faring at the other side: he was probably going crazy with worry just at that moment, having to watch his little brother, his wounded and weak little brother, having to put himself at risk like that, after everything he had had to do to reach him. He wished he could spare him that, as well as he wished Sam didn’t have to put his own life at risk for him. But having that kind of thoughts wasn’t going to help anyone, so Blaine tried to get them off his head and concentrate on the hard task at hand.

It was then when his brother’s strong voice reached him from afar, as he yelled for them to be ready because he was going to throw his lasso at them. Sam readied himself to catch it, but it was difficult to do it with just one hand and without being able to move, as he had no intention of letting Blaine go completely for even one second, having noticed how unstable he was.

“Sam, you’re going to need to get a little closer!” Cooper told them from the distance, his voice filled with anguish at what he was seeing. “The robe is too short!”

Sam cursed under his breath –and Blaine knew him enough to know he would have been screaming and kicking his rage away if he wasn’t trying to keep him from panicking–, and removed his arm from around Blaine’s waist until the only link between them was their joined hands.

“Don’t move” Sam ordered him, as he walked by him and put himself in front of him, as there was no way he was going to let him enter the rapids without a strong robe tied around him. “Try again now, Cooper!”

It didn’t take them more than a couple of tries this time until the lasso got caught in Sam’s outstretched arm. His heart about to stop with fear, he carefully turned around and looked at his boyfriend with badly hidden desperation.

“I need you to walk to me now, babe” Sam said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone as he gently started pulling on Blaine’s hand. “I won’t let go of you”

Nodding confidently back at him –not sure who he was trying to reassure more, Sam or himself–, Blaine obeyed and started walking towards his boyfriend. He knew the most dangerous part was about to begin, so he made a conscious effort to firmly place his feet on the ground at each step he took. However, he was not ready for the force of the water at that part of the river and as soon as he entered one of the rapids, he lost his footing and felt himself engulfed in that freezing water that wouldn’t even let him scream.

It took Sam every ounce of his self-control to stop himself from panicking –especially when he heard Cooper and Sebastian’s desperate scream from the other edge–, not wanting to make the wrong move. Fortunately he had been able to keep the tight grip he had on Blaine’s hand, and he strongly pulled against the current to get Blaine out of the water, though it wasn’t enough. With a scream from the effort, he pulled again and this time he was able to get Blaine close enough so his other hand could grab Blaine’s arms and raise him above the water.

Blaine gave a desperate breath as he finally got to the surface, practically without any air on him, and let himself be manhandled by Sam’s shaky hands that were helping him to try and stand on his own two feet again. He could feel how Sam wanted to embrace him –and he wanted it even more–, but they couldn’t lose any time.

“You okay?” Sam asked, looking worriedly at Blaine while the latter tried to regain his breath.

“Yeah” was all the answer Blaine was able to give, but he managed to put a hand on Sam’s arm as the latter tried to tie the rope around him, stopping him. “We can advance a bit more until we have enough rope to tie it around the both of us”

“No way” Sam contradicted him, not even trying to discuss it as he gently but sternly removed Blaine’s hand from his arm and used his superior strength to get the lasso around him. “We’re not moving an inch again until I know it’s safe for you to do it”

“But…” Blaine tried to protest, but Sam was already strengthening the knot and turning him around to hold him from behind, like before.

“I’ll hold onto you” Sam promised to reassure him right before he started pushing him again. “I’m not intending to let go, don’t worry about me”

They started moving through the worst part of the river. Sam could feel the enormous effort Blaine was doing by the tension on his muscles, but he was making a good job anyway, as if there was something Blaine was, that was stubborn.

“You’re doing great, love” Sam praised him, wanting him to know he was very aware of how hard he was trying and how much he appreciated it. “I’m so proud of you”

Blaine was unable to answer, the effort he was making to remain standing was so great, but Sam’s words still warmed his heart to no end and gave him strength to keep fighting. After all, he had to do it for Sam, who was risking his own life for him, and for Cooper, who was waiting for him at the other side.

They were already half-way through the river, the water already to their waists, and Sam was smiling because he could see they were going to make it, when Blaine stepped on a little hole on the ground that made him lose his balance and he lost his footing again. It all happened so fast that Sam didn’t have time to react and hold him more strongly, and as soon as Blaine’s feet weren’t on the ground the current took him away without neither one of them being able to help it.

Sam’s heart skipped a beat as he saw his boyfriend moving away from him against his will, but he felt momentarily relieved when he remembered he had a rope around him and his brother would never let go of him. But that relief disappeared in an instant when he noticed that, even if the tautened robe kept him from continuing down with the current, it did nothing to keep him above the water, and he still had to appear again.

Sam walked as fast as he could towards him, his heart in his throat just thinking about the horrible feeling Blaine would be experiencing right then as he was unable to draw a breath, but he knew he would never make it on time at that rate before Blaine would drown. Hardly needing to make a decision, even if he knew it was very dangerous and exactly what he had promised Blaine he wouldn’t do, Sam threw himself in the water completely and let himself be carried by it, hoping against hope he wouldn’t pass Blaine by and could grab onto him before being dragged too far away.

When he arrived more or less to the place where he knew Blaine was, even if he couldn’t see him, he straightened his arms to the limit, trying to find him. He couldn’t feel anything and he yelled in frustration when he realized he was involuntarily moving away from him thanks to the current. But the tip of his fingers finally made contact with something, and he used the last of his forces to try and swim against the current. And when he found that something again, and he realized it was Blaine’s leg, he strongly grabbed it and used Blaine’s body to keep himself from being dragged again. And when he was finally all the way up to Blaine’s upper body, he put his arms around Blaine’s chest and pulled him up as quickly as he could until Blaine’s head was finally up the surface.

Blaine didn’t seem to be able to get enough air as he was finally freed from the water trap the river had become for him. As hard as he try, he didn’t feel as if any oxygen was making it to his lungs, and his struggles to breathe were not enough.

“Come on, B” he could hear Sam urging him from behind, and he would have loved nothing more than to make Sam happy and start breathing normally, but he couldn’t, as much as he tried.

“Don’t do that again” Blaine managed to say between breaths, wanting for Sam to understand that it was okay, that he had tried, that it was what he wanted, and Sam had never felt a greater anger than the one he felt at the mere notion of staying still as Blaine died in front of his eyes.

“Shut the fuck up” he answered before he could stop himself, and just held more strongly onto the smaller boy, who still had to regain the ability to breathe.

Sam knew Blaine wouldn’t last a lot longer. There was no way he could regain his breath if he had to keep fighting to stay above the water and the rope was constricting his chest and keeping him from taking deep breaths. Plus the water that kept splashing him on his nose and mouth wasn’t helping. Sam didn’t trust Cooper and the others to get them out fast enough, and he needed to find a way to make them stand on their feet again and not depending on the rope.

They could use the car in the middle of the road, as Cooper, Puck and most of the others had done. It was close enough that they could reach it with a little effort, and Blaine would have the chance to regain his breath and Sam would have the chance to hold himself on his feet again if he could hold onto it.

Swimming wasn’t easy while trying to keep Blaine above the water, but they were lucky that the car was in the direction the water was taking them so it wasn’t as difficult as he had expected. Sam pushed Blaine towards the car and lifted his arms on it to make sure the shorter boy would grab onto it, which he did. But when Sam was about to grab on it himself, his still tender shoulder gave way; only for one second, but it was enough to make him miss the car by mere inches and he was swept away by the current.

“Sam!” Blaine shouted at the top of his lungs when he saw his boyfriend disappear, forgetting in an instant about his lack of breath from a moment before.

It was only half a minute later –even if his eyes were already filled with bitter tears– when Blaine started sobbing at the relief of seeing Sam coming out to the surface again and being able to hold onto a rock so he wouldn’t be carried even further away.

Blaine immediately thought about getting into action: there was no way Sam could get out of that situation without a rope, as the water naturally swirled around the rock he was grabbing onto and it would be too dangerous to try. So it was up to him to reach him and make sure they both could hold onto the rope until the others could pull them out.

“Don’t!” Cooper yelled from his place, instantly guessing his brother’s intentions. “You’re not up to that!”

“I’m not going to leave him there!” Blaine found the strength to yell back, his voice sounding terrified. “He’s there because he was trying to save me!”

“Let us pull you out first and then I’ll use the rope myself to get him out for you, buddy, I promise” Cooper insisted, knowing he would do anything in his power to erase the terror he could see in Blaine’s face at the possibility of losing Sam.

Blaine was thinking about agreeing –he was not an idiot, even if it killed him to let others save Sam, he knew they were in a better condition than he was– when a sudden noise made him turn around towards Sam again and he was appalled to discover the rock he was grabbing onto was shaking.

“There is no time for that, the rock is about to give in!” Blaine screamed.

“Blaine, listen to your brother” Sam tried to convince him, worried that it would be too much for him even if he knew there was a big chance that the rock would give away before Cooper could reach him. “It will hold”

“Shut the fuck up” Blaine answered, repeating the same words Sam had used with him only moments ago, before he took a deep breath and decidedly let go of the car to let himself be pulled in Sam’s direction.

“No!” Sam yelled, his heart in his throat as he got to watch Blaine disappear under the water again, but he had to concentrate on hanging onto the rock as it started trembling with more force with his weight.

As this time he was going with the current, Blaine was able to go up to the surface a couple of times to get some breath, and Sam wondered what was taking him so long to reach him. Had he maybe gotten stuck on something?

“Blaine!” he yelled, his eyes filling with tears at the struggling he could see in his boyfriend not to drown.

“The rope… is too… short” Blaine explained between sharp intakes of air. “I can’t get… any closer”

“Then stop!” Sam yelled to make himself heard, and when it took a whole minute for Blaine’s face to appear over the surface again he knew what he was doing. “Don’t untie yourself! Shit, Blaine, don’t!”

But of course Blaine wasn’t listening. With a lot of difficulty he finally managed to untie the rope from his chest and contented himself with holding onto it with only one hand, praying –even if he was not religious– that his forces wouldn’t fail him and he would not let go of the rope before he could reach Sam.

Blaine let himself float and straightened his body as much as he could, so hopefully Sam could grab onto one of his feet.

“I can’t reach you” Sam groaned as he failed to reach him, even if he knew Blaine couldn’t hear him because his face was again submerged under the water.

So Sam knew he didn’t have a second to lose and didn’t hesitate, making a jump from his place and hoping against hope he wouldn’t miss his shot. And he didn’t, he thought with a sob as he strongly grabbed Blaine’s ankle, not a minute too soon because the rock finally gave away with the extra pressure and ended up swept by the water.

“Come on, guys, pull as fast as you can!” someone yelled, but Sam couldn’t even determine who it was over the roaring of the water.

Sam couldn’t even see what was going on because of all the water splashing into his face, but he guessed all the others were probably pulling on the rope because they were moving far more quickly that he would have expected. He wondered if Blaine had been able to get his head out of the water, but at least he knew he was still hanging on because he was still holding onto the robe.

“Blaine!” Cooper desperately cried as he gave a final pull and at last was able to catch one of Blaine’s arms to lift his upper body and keep his head above the water.

He only waited a second until Sebastian managed to take his other hand, and then they both pulled with all their forces until they were able to raise Blaine’s body from the water and got him to the ground at their feet. With a quick look at Sam, and he was relieved to see that Mike and Puck were doing the same for him, Cooper’s attention turned again fully to his brother, who hadn’t found the strength to even raise himself from the floor, where he was lying face first, and was clearly struggling to breathe amongst all the coughing.

“Blaine!” Sebastian exclaimed this time, seeing his friend in trouble but not knowing how to help.

Cooper didn’t hesitate, though, and in one quick movement he turned his little brother to his side and lifted his upper body from the floor so he would find it easier to take deep breaths and he could start decongesting his battered lungs.

“Easy, little brother” Cooper whispered reassuringly to him as he held him in his arms, trying to get him to calm down so he would concentrate on his breathing. “Come on, deep breaths, come on”

“Sam” Blaine managed to softly murmur between all the coughing, but it was enough for Cooper to know who he was worrying about.

“He is right here, he’s ok, don’t worry, just concentrate on breathing” Cooper answered in a comforting tone, wanting to keep Blaine calm at least until he recovered his breath.

“Blaine” a strained voice sounded behind him as a warm hand tenderly landed on his back, and Blaine didn’t need to see him to know who it was, so he turned around as quick as he could manage and let himself fall on those arms that were waiting for him.

Sam hurried to close the embrace around the smaller boy, needing to feel him close enough so he could hear his heartbeat and convince himself that Blaine was still alive. And by the strength which with Blaine was embracing him back, Sam knew he was feeling exactly the same, so he squeezed his smaller frame even more strongly to his chest, hoping to reassure him as well.

“You okay?” Blaine’s shaking voice asked against his ear.

“Yeah” Sam quickly answered, ignoring his exhaustion and the pain on his shoulder, because he knew they were small prices to pay considering how they could have both ended. “You?”

“Yeah” Blaine answered also too quickly even if he still hadn’t completely regained his breath and he seemed about to faint with fatigue.

“See? We did it” Sam said when he broke the embrace, looking happily at his boyfriend with a triumphant smile that quickly disappeared at Blaine’s unexpected reaction.

“Why the hell did you do that?” Blaine yelled in a sudden rage just before giving and angry slap to Sam’s chest, surprising everyone.

“Did what?” Sam asked in total bewilderment.

“Let yourself go into the water to reach me! You promised you wouldn’t put yourself at risk for me!” Blaine retorted back at him, practically screaming and in an obvious fit.

“But Blaine, I...” Sam tried to justify himself, beginning to understand where the anger was coming from, even if he hadn’t been expecting it at all.

“You promised, you fucking liar!”

“I know, and I’m sorry, but I never had the intention of keeping that promise, you know”

“You could have been killed!” Blaine angrily answered, his eyes starting to fill with tears in spite of himself, his fear and rage were so real.

“And what was I supposed to do, stand aside and watch you drown?” Sam retorted, not knowing how to calm his boyfriend down, as the last thing that he needed in his state was an emotional breakdown like that.

“Yes!” Blaine answered without hesitation, surprising everyone with his honesty. “You promised!”

“But Blaine, you should have known I would have never…” Sam tried to make him see –did Blaine really thought he was going to let him die, even if he had promised?–, but Blaine was totally beyond himself and wasn’t willing to listen.

“You lied to me!” Blaine interrupted him again in a loud voice as he hit Sam’s chest with his fist, not hard enough to hurt him but enough for the blond to see how serious he was –and he was terrified to see some blood starting to soak Blaine’s wet clothes around his shoulder, which probably meant his wound had reopened with the whole ordeal.

“Blaine, please, your wound must have reopened and it’s bleeding, let me just…” Sam said in a reassuring tone, resting a gentle hand on Blaine’s shoulder so he could keep him still while he checked the wound, but he immediately saw it was the wrong move when Blaine practically jumped backwards to avoid him.

“Don’t touch me!” Blaine yelled, verging on hysterics by then, which worried Sam very much as he had never seen his boyfriend like that.

“But Blaine…” he said, not even trying to touch him this time, but still Blaine recoiled again.

“Let me, Sam” Cooper felt obliged to intervene, wanting to stop his brother’s breakdown before it went too far.

“Blaine, listen to me…” Sam insisted, but Blaine refused his touch once again and this time Cooper physically put himself between the couple.

“I’ll help him now, Sam” Cooper said in the same calm voice he always used when he was trying to fix the situation, gently pushing Sam away from his brother so he could kneel in front of him instead. “Just give him some time”

Sighing tiredly, his heart breaking at how Cooper was able to embrace Blaine and console him when he hadn’t been allowed to, Sam got on his feet and moved a few feet away from them, giving them the space his boyfriend seemed to be needing so much. Even if he had been nearly hysteric, Sam knew Blaine was more scared than really angry; after all, how many times had he voiced his absolute terror of losing him? And how close he had come to do just that only a couple of minutes ago? Sam knew he shouldn’t have lied to him and made promises he didn’t intend to keep. Of course he didn’t regret anything he had done, but maybe he should have been honest with him and tried to convince him some other way. He totally understood Blaine’s anger, and he was completely sure his sweet and calm boyfriend would be back when he had had some time to cool off. But that didn’t make it any easier having to watch from the distance as it was Cooper and Sebastian, and not him, the ones to take care of him for once.

“It’s nothing, Sam” Sebastian’s voice, suddenly at his side after a while, took him out of his reverie, probably wanting to erase the worry from his eyes that Sam knew he was sporting. “It just bled a little, nothing to worry about”

“Thank, Seb” Sam honestly answered, even trying to give him a smile although he was sure it came out more as a grimace.

“He just… He got really scared when the current swept you” Sebastian tried to comfort Sam at the same time that he defended his friend. After all, he had been a witness to those two’s loving relationship and it hurt him to see them at odds.

“I know” Sam answered with a nod, making the taller one understand he wasn’t blaming Blaine for his outburst and perfectly understood it.

“But he will come around soon” Sebastian insisted, hoping he could make Sam feel better, even if only slightly. “You know he can’t live without you”

“Thanks, Seb” Sam repeated with a sad smile.

**********

Sam had to remove some treacherous tears from his cheeks every now and then as they walked, knowing how lousy his boyfriend was feeling –he had seen tears in Blaine’s cheeks too  more than once for a while now– and that he was not allowed to try and make it better. After crossing the river, Blaine was so obviously exhausted that he hadn’t even tried to deny it, and had instantly agreed to be carried on his brother’s back. And when Cooper had become too tired, Blaine had been transferred to Sebastian’s back for a while, and then Puck’s. But Sam hadn’t still dared to approach him again, afraid of sending him into a full rage again now that at least he seemed to be calmer. He hoped it was only exhaustion keeping him from even protesting about being carried, and his wound reopening didn’t mean he was going to get sicker again. And to know he couldn’t be with time at times like these… it only made his heart break a little more with each step.

“He will come around” Marley said, suddenly appearing at his side.

“I know he will” Sam quickly answered, his heart breaking once again as he looked at his lover and noticed him fighting to hold his head up in his exhaustion so as not to bother Puck, knowing he would have let it fall on his shoulder if it had been him the on to carry him, as the other times. “He was just scared, I know, but… it kills me to see him always so afraid for me”

“He just loves so much” Marley tried to help.

“I know” Sam answered, wishing for the first time that Blaine’s feelings for him weren’t that strong, even if it was only for a second.  “Gosh, I know”

***********

They already thought they were going to be spending the night in the open air –which wouldn’t be an easy thing considering it was very cold and they were still drenched, especially Blaine and Sam– when they found a small abandoned farm that had them yelling and cheering in excitement before they were even inside.

It wasn’t a big thing; quite the contrary, it was small and modest. But it was cozy and offered them a roof over their heads. And it even had a fireplace, and this time they weren’t going to hesitate to use it: after all, it was already too dark for the smoke to be seen unless from very near, and they doubted there would be someone around such an isolated place.

They searched the place for food, clothes and blankets, and they all got out from their wet clothes before anything else. Then they divided the tasks between them –as Blaine got to sit in front of the fire, hoping he would stop shaking soon– and everybody got into action.

Cooper took care of the safety of the place, and he soon started doing the same things Blaine always found so necessary: checking every corner of the place for walkers, blocking all the entrances… And it was like then, when he was trying to move a big shelving against one of the windows, that Sebastian decided to approach him and help him.

“Thanks” Cooper said with a grateful smile after they both efficiently moved that piece of furniture. “That should keep us safe for the night. Maybe it would be better to seal us up, but after what happened the last time…”

“I know, we can’t be too careful” Sebastian immediately agreed, before turning serious. “Listen, I… wanted to thank you for before. With the snake, I mean. You saved my life, even if that meant putting everyone, including your brother, at risk”

“Nobody is left behind” Cooper answered without hesitation, and by the sadness which crossed his face for a second Sebastian could see he had probably lost some people on his way. “I’ve seen that happen often enough and I don’t want to see anybody else die if I can help it. Besides, my brother seems to really appreciate you, and from what I know you’ve saved his life more than once. I would never forgive myself if I had to see him mourning a dear friend like you if there was anything I could do to stop it”

“Thanks, Cooper” Sebastian managed to find his voice, after almost been left speechless by Cooper’s appraisal. “I can now understand why Blaine feels so deeply about you”

“You’re a good kid after all, Sebastian” Cooper commented with an amused smile that immediately told Sebastian what he was really talking about.

“So you were aware of the slushee incident, then” Sebastian answered, trying –and failing– not to blush at the realization that Blaine’s big and very protective older brother knew it had been him sending him to the hospital just some months ago. “I was wondering if you had made the connection”

“I did” Cooper answered with a chuckle that put Sebastian’s mind at ease, as he didn’t seem to be too upset about it after all. “And I have to say I kind of hated you when it happened. But I think you’ve made it up to my brother already, right?”

“I hope so”

“I know you have. Sometimes we need tragedies like this to get the best out of ourselves, right?”

“Looks like so” Sebastian agreed, his eyes following Cooper’s gaze that had fondly settled on his little brother after their conversation. “Should we go and keep little Blaine some company?”

“I have a feeling is not our company the one he is desperately needing right now” Cooper answered with a smile as he watched Sam slowly approaching Blaine, almost as if the latter was a wild animal and he was afraid for him to attack again. “Let’s just give them some time to realize how idiots they are”

“Ok” Sebastian chuckled at that, turning around to look for other tasks to give the lovers some privacy.

Blaine was the perfect picture of misery, Sam could see, sitting all alone in front of the fire while tightly wrapped in a huge quilt that only made him look even smaller. He was shivering in spite of the high temperature of the room by then and there was so much sadness and worry in his face that Sam wondered if he would ever be able to erase them from him, as much as he tried. But he was surely going to try.

“Hey” Sam said in a soft tone, not wanting to scare the other boy who seemed to be so lost into his thoughts.

“Hey” Blaine answered equally low as he looked up at his lover’s face, and Sam got encouraged by the fact he couldn’t see the obvious rage that had been so present only a few hours before in his eyes anymore.

“Can I…?” Sam asked while making a gesture to indicate he wanted to sit next to him, to which Blaine immediately nodded.

Not being able to stop a smile from breaking into his lips at the small victory, Sam rushed to sit next to Blaine. And when Blaine unconsciously leant slightly towards him instead of rejecting him like he had done after the river incident and lifted the quilt for Sam to get under it with him, Sam didn’t hesitate to obey, even if he was practically sweating because of the fire by then, and put his arm around Blaine’s shoulders to bring him to his side, hoping to offer some comfort in the form of physical contact, as he couldn’t stand seeing Blaine looking so lost.

“How is your wound?” Sam asked, knowing very well Blaine would never ignore his worries and answer him in all honesty.

“It was nothing, it barely bled” Blaine, as expected, answered so Sam wouldn’t have to worry anymore. “What about your shoulder?”

“Not that bad, it just aches with some movements, but it’s nothing I can’t stand” Sam answered, even making a rotator movement with his shoulder so that Blaine would see it was not that bad, but he stopped immediately to also put that arm around his boyfriend when the latter wouldn’t stop shivering. “Gosh, I wish I could stop you from shivering like this”

“Your embrace helps” Blaine answered, his voice and the smile he rewarded Sam with full of tenderness that the blond reciprocated with a kiss to his forehead.

A comfortable silence, only broken by the comforting crackling of the burning wood, fell upon them for a couple of minutes. They had missed each other for the last hours like crazy, and now, being in each other’s arms in front of the fire, safe and sound and together, was all they needed to feel contented again.

Even if Sam knew they needed to talk about what had happened.

“I’m sorry” Sam broke the silence while he devotedly rubbed Blaine’s arm to get more warmth into him.

“No, Sam, you don’t have…” Blaine, sounding again like his usual sweet self instead of the angry young man from some hours before, tried to stop him, but Sam really needed to make a point.

“No, let me talk” Sam pleaded. “I’m not sorry I helped you, of course, but… I guess I shouldn’t have lied to you”

“It’s okay” Blaine, unsurprisingly, forgave him in an instant, and Sam’s heart warmed to no end when his boyfriend let his head tenderly fall on his shoulder, as if trying to feel him even closer or wanting to show him he still needed him and trusted him as he had always done. “I’m sorry too, I… completely overreacted. But we had just lost Artie, and you were so close to…”

“I know” Sam was quick to interrupt Blaine when the latter’s voice started breaking, and he rested his head on Blaine’s with all the love in the world.

“It scared the hell out of me” Blaine confessed in a barely restrained voice, and Sam suspected that his shivering was not only product of the cold anymore.

“I get it, B” Sam reassured him, perfectly understanding how Blaine had felt –as he had gotten to experience that same fear more than a couple of times since the whole apocalypse started–. “And I’m sorry I made you feel that way. But I don’t regret it if it meant keeping you alive”

“I don’t want anyone giving up their life for me. Especially you” Blaine said, his gaze so intense when he raised his head from Sam’s shoulder to look at him that the latter felt he could almost see the bottom of Blaine’s soul… and it was full of fear of losing him.

“Well, I’m sorry but… I guess that’s not your decision to make anymore, you know?” Sam replied, hating to contradict him now that they were alright again but needing to make a point, because situations like that were probable to happen again and he needed Blaine to be ready for them.

“But Sam…” Blaine tried to insist, but for once Sam didn’t let him finish.

“You wanted me to love you, right? Well, I do, more than anything. But that’s the price you have to pay for it” Sam explained, leaving no room for argument. “Besides, you’re being a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”

“Why?” Blaine asked in utter confusion.

“Do you want me to believe you wouldn’t have done the same for me? Hell, how many times have you put yourself at risk for me? Remember how you got shot on the first place?”

“But that was…”

“And don’t get me started on how today you undid the knot on the rope holding you so it would be longer and you were able to reach me. You could have ended letting go of it too, you know?”

“I… hadn’t thought about that” Blaine admitted, his cheeks blushing slightly at the realization of how he had let himself lost it like that with Sam, when it was clear he had been doing the same.

“Well, do” Sam replied, though he softened his tone immediately when he saw the regret in Blaine’s face. “And I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I guess… it’s just how things are now because we love each other. It’s as easy as that”

“Alright” Blaine finally relented, snuggling closer to Sam’s chest so he could put his own arm around the blond’s waist to embrace him more intimately. “But please, just… live”

“I’ll try my very best” Sam promised with a kiss to the top of his head, wishing that, even if it was only for a second, he could find a way to erase that permanent fear of losing him from Blaine’s eyes.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm soooooo sorry for taking so long... :(

Blaine decided to keep his eyes closed for a while after he woke up. He was feeling so warm and comfortable, after the previous awful days they had been forced to endure, that it was almost too good to be true. He was not lying on the floor anymore, but in what he supposed was the couch –someone, Sam more than probably, must have moved him while he slept– and even if he wasn’t next to the fireplace anymore he was feeling warm for the first time in forever thanks to the fact that someone –again, probably Sam– had thrown a couple more blankets over him. And wait, was he wearing a woolen hat or was it just his imagination?

There were light noises and soft voices all around him and Blaine felt comforted by them, knowing all his friends were near. And the fact that they were keeping it down so as not to bother his sleep only helped to warm his heart even more. He didn’t know what he had done to deserve having people as wonderful as them around him in a situation like that, but he would never stop being grateful. As grateful as he was about the person whose lap was holding his feet while keeping a hand over them to keep them warm, which instantly told him it was Cooper –the only one who knew how cold Blaine’s feet always got when he was not feeling well.

He slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to see it was still dark outside: maybe he hadn’t slept that much, then. But what the hell was everybody doing awake?

“Well, look who decided to join the living again” Cooper said in a light tone when he noticed his opened eyes, tenderly squeezing his feet in a loving gesture.

The loud sound of a chair being dragged, running steps and couple of other noises Blaine wasn’t able to identify filled the stillness of the room all of a sudden and, before he could react, Sam’s lovely face and sweet smile entered his line of vision, making his heart flutter with love.

“Hey, sleeping beauty” Sam tenderly said as he knelt down next to the couch and cupped Blaine’s cheek lovingly in his hand. “About time you came back”

“Oh, Sam, don’t mind me, it’s not like I’ve been building this house of cards for an hour” Puck mockingly protested, eliciting a few heartfelt laughs around them –as one of those sounds Blaine had heard was probably Sam bumping into the table in his rush to reach him and sending Puck’s house of cards in every direction.

“I’m sorry” Sam apologized with an embarrassed chuckle before turning to Blaine again. “How are you feeling, babe?”

“Like I’ve been sleeping for a lifetime, it feels as if a truck went over me” Blaine honestly answered as he tried to have a stretch, just to discover that absolutely every muscle of his body seemed to hurt. “But it’s still dark, so it couldn’t be that long, right?”

“It’s not still dark. It’s dark again” Sam explained with a fond and amused smile as he started playing with the unruly curls on Blaine’s forehead without even being aware he was doing it.

“What?” Blaine retorted in astonishment.

“Yeah, you’ve been sleeping for like… twenty hours, give and take” Cooper added from his place at Blaine’s feet, also sporting a smile but way more sardonic than Sam’s.

“It can’t be possible” Blaine protested, turning to look at his boyfriend for confirmation.

“It is” Sam gently contradicted him, even if he rested a sweet kiss on his cheek to compensate. “Sorry that you woke up alone, by the way. I tried to stay with you, but by the ninth hour my back was already killing me and I had to move”

“Don’t believe him, we had to physically remove him from your side” Puck intervened, eliciting a few laughs around him, including Blaine’s, who actually could believe it. “Kicking and cursing and everything”

“Why do you have to be so exaggerated?” Sam protested with feigned annoyance before finally sitting down on the floor, next to Blaine’s head to be closer to him and be able to caress his silky and wild hair. “I just wanted to be near in case you needed something, that’s all”

“But why did you let me sleep for so long?” Blaine asked in a whiny voice that he wasn’t able to stop even if he knew everybody in the room was listening –and probably internally laughing at him.

“And why not, did you need to be anywhere else?” Sam joked, even if he knew how much Blaine hated feeling weak –especially in front of the others–. “You were exhausted after the horrible days we’ve had lately, and still recovering from a very serious injury, don’t forget that. Heck, your wound reopened a bit just yesterday. I think you really needed your sleep”

“We just let your body decide what you needed, as it seems to be more sensible than you” Cooper added, with a grin that showed how much he was enjoying his brother’s embarrassment.

“Still…” Blaine tried to protest, but it seemed like no one was going to give him the option.

“Still nothing” Santana interrupted, not giving him the chance to protest anymore with her usual bitchy ways, even if they all could see she was really looking after Blaine. “You needed your sleep and you got it. Don’t make me repeat it again or I will slap some sense into you, and you know I will”

“Yeah, I know” Blaine answered, at last letting a small smile break into his lips.

“Glad to see you listen to me” Santana responded with feigned strictness. “And now you also need to eat, so we’re all going to have a nice dinner. Right, Unique?”

“Right away!” Unique answered as she hurried to get something ready with Trent’s and Sugar’s help.

“Am I wearing a hat?” Blaine asked as he drove his hand to scratch his forehead and found a woolen obstacle in his way.

“That was me” Sam answered in mild embarrassment.

“You don’t say!” Cooper joked from his place.

“I heard once that we lose most of our inner heat through the head and you were shivering so badly that I didn’t know what to do and it couldn’t hurt, right?” Sam explained, trying not to blush at how silly it sounded now that he put it into words, but Blaine’s sweet smile at him immediately made him feel better.

“You’re so sweet” Blaine said while cupping Sam’s face and attracting him to him so he could kiss those lips he loved so much.

They decided to stay and eat all together in the living room, because they had again taken advantage of the darkness to start a fire so they could keep the room as warm as possible. And even if they didn’t admit it, they felt better in the company of others. As Sam had said, the last couple of days had been really hard for everyone: they had lost Artie, they had been close to losing Sam and Blaine and they were more than worn out. So taking comfort from the presence of the others was not so crazy, after all.

In spite of how exhausted he still felt, Blaine managed to eat enough to please both Sam and Cooper –and Blaine could have sworn even Sebastian seemed to be keeping an eye on his plate to check how much he was eating–, and by the time everyone was finishing their own plates, Blaine was already having a hard time keeping his eyes open in spite of how hard he was fighting to –after all, he had lost a whole day, he wanted to hang on with his loved ones for a while longer.

Sam immediately noticed, but not wanting to put all the focus on his boyfriend –as he knew that would immediately throw him on the defensive–, he preferred to change tactics.

“Ok, I think it’s time to get some shut-eye, people” he announced while clearing his and Blaine’s plate, winking his eye at everybody looking at him when he was sure Blaine couldn’t see him. “If I hear one more yawn I swear I’m going to fall unconscious myself”

“You’re right” Sebastian immediately agreed, getting the hint and already laying down. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more tired”

“Really? Because I’ve been resting the whole day, I don’t feel like…” Puck started to protest, oblivious to Sam’s intentions, but a dark look and a clover on the back of his head from Sebastian immediately shut him up. “Although now that you mention it…”

“Come on, babe” Sam tenderly said as he went back to his boyfriend and pushed him down on the couch to tuck him in with all the care in the world as all the others started lying down themselves around the room. “I know you don’t want to sleep any more but I’m sure you’ll feel as good as new in the morning. And everybody else is doing it anyway, so…”

“Yeah, all of us are going to sleep now” Puck added with a more than obvious wink towards the others, which elicited for Sebastian to roll his eyes at him in frustration. Fortunately, Blaine didn’t seem to notice as his attention was focused on something else.

“But…” Blaine started to protest when he saw Sam getting a blanket for himself and again sitting down next to the sofa.

“What?” Sam asked, noticing that Blaine looked troubled about something.

“I want to sleep with you” Blaine whispered as softly as he could so only Sam would hear, but apparently he was not successful.

“I think he said that he wants to sleep with Sam” Puck, who was lying the closest to them aside from Cooper, informed the rest of the youngsters with a smug smirk on his face, apparently very satisfied with himself when everybody laughed wholeheartedly at it –well, almost everyone.

“Thank you, Puck” Blaine sarcastically answered, his cheeks decorated with a dark crimson shade that only made him look all the more adorable to Sam’s eyes –though the blond was not going to let himself fall for it this time.

“There is no way I’m moving you to the floor again, you’re staying on that sofa where your body is comfortable enough to get the rest it needs” Sam sternly answered. There was nothing he wanted more than to sleep wrapped around Blaine’s smaller form himself, but his boyfriend’s wellbeing was more important than that.

“Then lie here with me” Blaine insisted, hoping it didn’t sound too much as begging.

“It’s too narrow for the both of us and you need a good sleep” Sam refused again, though he could feel his resistance starting to break at the prospect.

“You know I need you for that” Blaine insisted with a mischievous smile.

“Guys, we’re still here, remember?” Puck intervened, apparently very amused at the situation.

“So? You’re jealous or anything? Maybe you’d want me to sleep with you instead?” Blaine retorted more harshly than intended, a little annoyed at Puck’s constant mocking, but his response didn’t get the reaction he expected when everybody laughed again.

“No, thanks, I think I’ll leave that honor to my good friend Sam” Puck answered, far from offended at Blaine’s more than obvious annoyance.

“So?” Blaine ignored Puck’s comment to turn to his boyfriend again, giving him his best version of puppy eyes that he knew Sam couldn’t resist.

“I don’t know, B…” Sam hesitated, so Blaine made sure to add a pitiful pout to his plea.

“Pretty please”

“Alright, I guess I’ll just have to hold you real close…” Sam finally relented, already getting up from the floor to comply to his boyfriend’s wishes –he was hurt after all, he was supposed to spoil him, right?

“Isn’t this getting a bit too m-rated?” Unique joked at the scene.

“And just in front of your older brother, Blainey” Cooper protested good-naturedly from his position on the floor.

“Will you all just shut up?” Blaine complained, but the frown on his face was quickly replaced with a smile when Sam finally lay down behind him and closed his arms strongly around his upper body to spoon him, as promised. “I love you” Blaine whispered as he nestled more comfortably against Sam’s chest with a contented sigh.

“We love you too!” Puck answered in a loud voice, again followed by a good round of laughs.

“If I wasn’t so fucking tired and comfortable right now…” Blaine complained with a deep sigh, but he could hardly keep a smile out of his face. Yeah, his friends were really annoying, but he knew they only wanted for him to forget about everything and create a light atmosphere, and that was a way of taking care of him in their own twisted and exasperating way.

“I love you too” Sam whispered with a chuckle before resting a slow kiss behind his ear that made Blaine shiver.

His full stomach, the warmth of the room and the contentment that Sam’s arms around him always gave him, soon lulled Blaine into a deep sleep again –a clear sign for Sam that he was not totally recovered yet–, and Sam waited until his breathing became deep and slow to talk.

“Ok, he’s asleep, you can go back to whatever you were doing before supper” Sam announced on a soft voice, wanting for everyone to hear him but not to wake Blaine up.

“The things we do for your sweetheart…” Puck mockingly protested before he disentangled himself from his blanket and got up to go to the table again, where his cards were waiting for him.

“Thank you, guys” Sam honestly said with a smile. “It’s the only way I could think of to get him to sleep without complaint”

“You don’t have to thank us, Sam” Sebastian added with a warm smile as he followed Puck and Cooper to the table, “We all want him to get well”

Trying to keep it down so they wouldn’t wake Blaine up, everybody spread out around the living room in different activities to keep themselves entertained until they got sleepy. Everybody except for the two young boys lying on the sofa, of course.

“Sam, you can get up now, he’s not going to wake up” Cooper said when he noticed Sam, although very much awake, had yet to move.

“No, I… I’d rather just stay here” Sam answered, slightly blushing as he unconsciously reinforced his grip around Blaine. “I don’t want to disturb him”

“He is still exhausted, he’s not going to wake up” Cooper repeated, but even he could see that his words weren’t going to change Sam’s mind.

“I know but…”

“You want to stay there”

“Yeah” Sam confessed, his blush only getting more evident.

“You know, you can just say it” Cooper joked, although he was quite moved at how much that boy seemed to care about his brother. “No one here is going to judge you”

“At least not more than we already do” Puck added sarcastically.

“Ok, then I want to stay here… with him” Sam admitted with the ghost of a smile.

“I think he’s just feeling guilty that we tricked little Blainey like that and is trying to compensate” Puck intervened while he started dealing the cards in his hand amongst the youngsters willing to play poker with him.

“Wait until he hears that we already decided to stay here for a couple of days so he can totally recover…” Sebastian added, eliciting a round of laughter amongst the youngsters that Sam was forced to shush before they woke Blaine up.

He couldn’t help but to smile himself, knowing his friends were only pulling his leg but genuinely cared and wanted to help taking care of Blaine, that they loved him and wanted what was best for him, in spite of how much they liked torturing them about their relationship. After all, they had helped him trick him back to sleep, right?

“We’re so mean to you, right?” Sam whispered with a chuckle in his boyfriend’s ear even if he knew he couldn’t hear him before resting the softest kiss on the side of his neck, relishing in the feeling of having Blaine’s warm and relatively healthy body between his arms again, unaware of the fond smile Cooper was sending their way.

**********

Blaine woke up the next morning about the same time as everybody else, happy to feel Sam’s sturdy chest against his back and his strong arms around his torso, knowing he had been spooning and protecting him all night. He rested a kiss on Sam’s forearm with a smile, feeling refreshed and stronger than he had felt ever since he got shot, what felt like a lifetime ago, even if it had been only a few days ago. But Blaine had always been strong and a fast healer, and he felt totally ready to resume their travelling at last.

“So are we leaving after breakfast?” he asked to no one in particular as they ate, and this time he was sitting to the table like everybody else, so he could easily see the looks most of them were exchanging as they tried to gather some time to answer.

“Leaving?” Sebastian repeated, trying to sound as if he didn’t know what Blaine was talking about.

“To resume our trip. We’re leaving today, aren’t we?” Blaine insisted, looking quizzically at everybody until his eyes fell on his brother, knowing he was quickly becoming kind of a leader –both because of his age and his obvious charisma– and everybody would listen to him.

“I was thinking… maybe we don’t have to leave today” Cooper answered, and he wasn’t as good an actor as he thought because Blaine could clearly see it was not a spontaneous answer.

“Why not? The plan was to travel, right?”

“Sure, but I don’t think there is any rush. I mean, we could stay here for a couple of days to have a rest, you know”

“If that’s because of me…” Blaine tried to protest, starting to get worked up against what he felt was a trap –the guilty expressions on most faces told him they had already talked about it and made a decision. Without him.

“Not just you, Blaine, I think everybody could do with a little rest” Cooper answered, trying to take the focus out of his brother so he would be more easily convinced.

“Coop, I appreciate your worrying, but I’m alright, there’s no need to put our plan on hold just for me”

“There’s no need to rush it either, Blaine, and if we can have a couple of days to regain our strength and make sure we leave when we are ready…”

“But…”

“I totally agree with Cooper” Sam intervened.

“Yeah, it totally makes sense” Sebastian added with an exaggerated nod of his head.

“Totally” Marley agreed with a forced smile.

“You’ve already talked about this, right?” Blaine finally asked, looking accusingly at everybody.

“Well…” Cooper said with a careless shrug of his shoulders and a sarcastic grin.

“And nothing I say is going to change your decision”

“We voted”

“I didn’t vote” Blaine protested with obvious indignation.

“It was quite unanimous, so your vote wouldn’t have changed a thing anyway” Cooper explained, quite amused at his brother’s annoyance.

“And you were a part of that?” Blaine asked while looking accusingly at Sam, who just looked down and shrugged his shoulders with guilt. “I can’t believe it”

“Oh, please, he’s just looking after you, don’t blame him for being more reasonable than you or for having to act behind your back because you’re so damned stubborn” Cooper tried to defend the blond; after all, and as the big brother who had had to babysit Blaine on countless occasions when he was a kid, no one knew how stubborn his brother could be more than he did.

“I just want to make sure you’re alright before putting you in danger again” Sam explained, almost as if he was apologizing, and of course the tenderness of it was enough to break through Blaine’s irritation.

“I know, love, I’m sorry” Blaine immediately apologized, his stubbornness immediately breaking as he took Sam’s hand in his to approach it to his lips so he could kiss it in apology before turning to the others. “And thank you, guys. I just…”

“You’re frustrated, we get it” Sebastian intervened in an understanding voice. “We know how much you hate not being in full shape and that you think you’re a hindrance for everyone and are slowing us down. But it’s not like that: you’ve helped us so much, you’ve taken care of us until now, so now we only want to return the favor”

“I personally just want to rest” Puck contradicted him with his usual smirk, but Blaine could see he was only trying to keep a light atmosphere so he laughed in spite of himself.

“I’m sorry again, everyone” Blaine apologized, squeezing Sam’s hand, still in his, to let him know it was him whom he was apologizing the most. “I’ll try to be patient”

“You better be” Cooper added, more seriously. “We have everything we need to spend here a couple of quiet days, except for maybe enough water, but we can easily get that in that pond we saw when were coming here. Let’s take advantage of the situation and have a little rest, ok? We well know we’ve earned it”

**********

After his little outburst, Blaine tried his best to behave and didn’t protest anymore as everyone split around the house to find something to entertain themselves, even if he felt he was going crazy with boredom and frustration. Sam hadn’t separated from him for a second, and Blaine wondered if he wanted to be near him just for the sake of it or it was his way of controlling he was not overdoing it. But since Blaine didn’t have any intention of being away from him either, he accepted his company with open arms.

And that’s how they were now, again on that damned couch –as some of the others had taken possession of the two rooms of the small building–. After lunch, and after spending half a day playing with Puck’s cards, Sam suggested they should take a little nap so he sat down and motioned for Blaine to pillow his head on his legs while promising a nice massage on his scalp to help him sleep. And, of course, Blaine hadn’t had the heart to refuse –both because he didn’t want to contradict his boyfriend and because he would never say no to a head massage.

But what had seemed like a nice idea had turned into torture after only a few minutes. After spending more than a day sleeping, there was no way Blaine could close his eyes again, as wonderful and dedicated Sam’s fingers felt between his curls. And it wasn’t long before he started feeling so restless he thought he was going to go crazy.

“Ugh, I feel so restless” Blaine complained when he couldn’t help it any longer. But come on, he had always had trouble to keep still for too long, and that’s all he had been doing for days!

“I guess you’re starting to recover your forces” Sam answered with a fond smile as he looked down at him, knowing how fidgety his boyfriend usually was –he was kind of amazed of how patient he had been after all, which only showed him all the more how serious his injury had really been.

“Let’s have a walk” Blaine suggested out of the blue, and it sounded so surreal in their situation that Sam could only snigger at it.

“Yeah, right”

“Just to the pond Cooper mentioned. He said we needed water, right?”

“Are you serious?” Sam asked, his smile freezing in his lips at realizing Blaine was not joking.

“Of course! It can’t be further away than ten or fifteen minutes at the most, right?” Blaine asked, jumping to sit up next to his boyfriend so the latter would see how serious and ready he was.

“Maybe, but… you sure you’re up to it?”

“If I have to regain my shape I can’t keep just resting, right? Now that I’m recovered, lying down all day isn’t helping me”

“You’re recovered?” Sam asked with a sarcastic tone.

“More or less” Blaine answered dismissively. “But the need to regain my strength is real”

“That might be true, you’re right” Sam was forced to admit. After all, were they really expecting for Blaine to be able to have a full day’s walking without any kind of training, after how seriously ill he had been? Besides, he was giving him those damned puppy eyes of his and he didn’t have the heart to deny him any longer. “Ok, let’s go. But you are telling your brother, don’t get me involved in this”

“Are you afraid of him?” Blaine asked with a wide smile that Sam quickly reciprocated.

“Yeah” Sam joked as he let himself pulled to his feet by his boyfriend’s insisting hand.

“Hey, guys” Blaine casually said as he poked his head round the door of the kitchen, where some of their friends –and Cooper– where trying to get something ready for that night. “Sam and I are going to that pond Cooper mentioned to get some water. We’ll be back in no time” he said in a rush and tried to escape before anyone could protest, but of course his brother was having none of that.

“Just stop right there, young man” Blaine winced in spite of himself when he heard his big brother’s stern voice behind him, as he had obviously followed him. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

“I told you, we’re just going…” Blaine tried to answer, but Cooper didn’t let him finish.

“I heard what you said” Cooper protested. “I was just wondering if you both have just lost your mind”

“We only want to have a little walk, Coop” Blaine said, and he was giving his brother such an amazing version of his trademark puppy eyes and pitiful pout that Sam had to fight hard not to laugh. “And you said we needed the water, if we don’t go someone else will have to”

“Blaine, I don’t think it’s safe for you to just go and have a walk outside” Cooper answered, in a more reasonable tone. “Not yet”

“We will be quick and we will keep our eyes open all the time”

“Still…”

“Come on, Cooper” Sam decided to help his boyfriend. After all, Blaine was right: if they didn’t go someone else would have to anyway, and Blaine really deserved a break from the torture it was for him having to rest all the time. “We haven’t seen a single walker since we came here and, as Blaine said, we will be careful”

Cooper let the air out in a long and deep sigh that immediately told Blaine he had won that round, but he refrained himself from doing any comments in case his brother changed his mind.

“Well, I don’t like the idea, but I guess I can’t stop you” Cooper said after a full minute of internal debate, understanding –in spite of himself– his brother’s need to move and to have a moment with his still very new boyfriend –if they thought he didn’t know that’s what they really wanted... And Sam was right, they didn’t seem to be any walkers around after all–. “And we really need that water”

“Thanks, Coop, you’re the best” Blaine said with a smile and an honest quick hug.

“We’ll get some water and be back immediately” Sam promised, understanding perfectly the older man’s worries, as he took some of their canteens and bottles lying around so they could have them filled.

“I’ll go with you, you might need some help” Jake said as he hurried to put on his jacket, oblivious to the glance the couple exchanged.

“Oh, don’t bother, we’ll manage” Blaine politely declined.

“Oh, it’s not a bother” Jake answered.

“We don’t need any help, really”

“The more the better, right?”

“Look, what Blaine is so politely trying to say is that I want a romantic walk with my boyfriend and you’re not invited” Sam intervened in a joking tone that made the younger Puckerman blush.

“Why didn’t you say so before!” Jake protested, blushing even more furiously at the laughter he had elicited with his naiveté.

“I thought it was obvious” Blaine said with a fond smile for his ingenious friend before strengthening his grip on Sam’s hand and pulling him to the door.

“Don’t go too far away and be careful, you two” Cooper warned them in a serious tone while opening the door for them.

“We will” Blaine promised as he unconsciously touched the weapon on the waistband of his trousers.

**********

Blaine smiled as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to swallow all the fresh air he could muster. It was not as if he had been deprived of it for too long –after all, it had been only two days ago when they had made it to the farm after a very hard trip in the open–, but he felt it was the first time he got to enjoy it in years. And the way Sam’s fingers entwined with their own only made it more special.

“You look happy” Sam commented, and Blaine opened his eyes to look at his boyfriend’s smiling face.

“I am” Blaine agreed with a reciprocating smile. “I know it’s silly and strange in a time like this, but…”

“It’s not” Sam immediately contradicted him with all the tenderness in the world. “I’m glad to see you like this, and to be able to still share these little moments with you, even in a world like this. Frankly, is all I need to have hope”

“You’re amazing, Sam” Blaine said in complete awe at his boyfriend’s contagious optimism.

“And you have seen nothing yet” Sam joked as he got something from his pocket and showed it to the curly-haired boy. “You want a piece of candy?”

“Where the hell did you get this?” Blaine asked in utter happiness, as if there was something he had, that was sweet teeth –and Sam apparently knew that.

“At the kitchen. I was going to offer them to everyone, but then I noticed they were cherry-flavored, your favorite, and I so love spoiling you…”

“You really do” Blaine said in a adoring tone as he took the offered candy from Sam’s hand and deposited a quick peck on his waiting lips. “You’re the best boyfriend ever, you know?”

“Actually that couldn’t be farther away from the truth after…” Sam lamented with a repentant sigh, but Blaine didn’t need him to finish to know what he was talking about.

“I don’t even want to hear it” he interrupted his boyfriend, almost offended himself that Sam didn’t know how great he was just because he had made a mistake at the beginning and it had taken him some time to admit his feelings. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“Of course not” Sam answered with a chuckle at his ridiculous boyfriend.

“Then when I say you’re the best boyfriend ever you have to accept it”

“Alright” Sam surrendered with a grateful smile.

“Here” Blaine said as he mischievously tried to leave the wrapping of his candy on Sam’s hand.

“Why are you giving me this?” the blond mockingly protested.

“Where am I supposed to leave it?” Blaine asked, trying to look innocent.

“What are you, five?” Sam retorted, amused at the situation and his boyfriend’s childish and adorable antics.

“Come on, weren’t you supposed to spoil me?” Blaine protested with a pout that made Sam cave in even if he knew it was fake.

“Geez, give it to me, you spoilt brat” Sam exclaimed as he took the wrapping and put it in his pocket next to his to get rid of them later.

“You’re so sweet”

“And patient!”

“That too” Blaine said with a chuckle as he took Sam’s hand in his and entwined their fingers together.

Sam looked at his boyfriend as the latter lifted his face towards the sun to let its rays shower his face, even closing his eyes to feel it better, and the blond could only smile fondly at him, feeling he could keep falling in love with him over and over again.

“Oh, this feels so good” Blaine said with a contented sigh.

“I know” Sam acknowledged while letting go of Blaine’s hand just so he could put his arm around the shorter boy’s shoulders instead.

“It almost feels unreal, you know?”

“You mean as if the world hadn’t ended and we were just taking a walk?”

“Yeah” Blaine agreed with a sad smile. “Can we just pretend that everything is normal for a while?”

“And that we are just a couple enjoying their love under the sun?” Sam answered, only half joking.

“Yeah”

“We can do that”

Blaine smiled gratefully at his boyfriend, who was always ready to do whatever it took to make him feel better, and then he stretched his neck to lovingly kiss Sam’s cheek, eliciting for the blond to grin goofily at him.

“How are you feeling?” Sam asked after a couple of minutes of comfortable silence, because even though Blaine hadn’t still shown any signs of getting tired, it was very hard for Sam to forget he was still not completely recovered.

“I’m feeling better” Blaine answered with a wide smile, and for once Sam could tell he was being honest. “I still feel kind of tired, but I can hold my own weight now and the wound hardly hurts anymore”

“You don’t know how happy it makes me to hear that…” Sam said while squeezing Blaine’s body more strongly to his side, his heart feeling a twinge of pain at the remainder of how close he had been to losing him. “And I’m sure you just need a couple more days to feel just as good as new”

“You think so?”

“Blaine, you’re the strongest person I know, of course I think so”

“Thanks, sweetie” Blaine answered, blushing slightly at the appraisal. “And how is your shoulder?”

“Much better too. Barely hurts anymore” Sam answered, even rotating it a bit to demonstrate how much better it was.

“So it still does”

“But barely”

“Oh my God, we look like two old men with all our infirmities” Blaine joked with a chuckle that elicited a heartfelt laugh from his boyfriend.

“You’re much too beautiful to look like an old man” Sam contradicted him, very proud of himself at the way Blaine’s face softened at his words.

“Oh please, you should see yourself right now” Blaine answered as he stopped in front of Sam for a second, devotion filling his impossibly huge eyes as his fingers idly played with the blond’s hair. “Most gorgeous man ever”

Without any warning, Sam suddenly grabbed Blaine’s arms and started pushing him backwards until he effectively trapped him between a tree and his own body, the empty canteens falling all around them, forgotten. And before Blaine could even utter a word, Sam’s lips were on his in an urgent and desperate way that aroused him and amused him at the same time.

“Sam, what are you doing?” Blaine asked with a smile when Sam finally gave him the option to speak after a couple of minutes of frantic kissing.

“What does it look like?” Sam cockily replied, moving his loving ministrations to Blaine’s soft neck, taking his time to rediscover his unique taste after so much time without being able to.

“And do you think this is the right time for this?” Blaine insisted even if he unconsciously let his head fall back to give Sam’s perfect lips better access to his neck, even loudly moaning when Sam expertly sucked on a particularly sweet spot.

“Come on, you are so hot and we haven’t done anything for so long…” Sam pleaded as he roughly lifted Blaine from the floor and urged him to close his legs around his waist, using the tree behind the brunet’s back for better leverage before savagely attacking his mouth again.

“Well, forgive me for being unable to satisfy your needs while on the brink of death” Blaine joked against his lips while his arms moved more closely around Sam’s neck in a desperate attempt to bring their bodies closer, even if that wasn’t physically possible.

“You know what I mean” Sam chuckled when he stopped for a second just to look at Blaine’s face. “We haven’t been intimate since before I told you I love you”

“I know” Blaine admitted with a sigh.

“Heck, we’ve hardly even kissed since then”

“I know”

“It’s like we’ve had sex before, but never really made love”

“It was always making love to me” Blaine confessed with a little smile that melted Sam’s heart.

“You’re right” he agreed just before kissing him more tenderly this time, taking his time to savor Blaine’s lips as if he was doing it for the first time. “That doesn’t change the fact that we haven’t made love in so long, and I soooo need you…” Sam continued as he playfully bit that sweet spot on Blaine’s neck that he knew so well, hoping he could tear down the last of his defenses. “You don’t know how much you turn me on”

“I want you too, you don’t know how much, but come on, you know we can’t do it here” Blaine tried to reason with him, but Sam’s tongue and lips on the crook of his neck were starting to break his resolution.

“I don’t think anybody would see us, you know?” Sam replied against Blaine’s skin.

“How about any walkers around? Because I have to tell you, I don’t feel like running with my pants around my ankles, you know?”

The silliness and surrealism of that thought made them both roar with a laughter that they weren’t able to stop for a couple of minutes. In fact, they laughed so much that their bellies hurt and they lost all their forces, so Sam was forced to leave Blaine to stand on his own feet again at the risk they both ended on the floor, but even that wasn’t enough to break their embrace and Blaine rested his cheek on Sam’s shoulder as he tried to stop the giggles.

“I know you’re right, but…” Sam tried to argue when he got control of himself again, but Blaine interrupted him when he lifted his face from the blond’s shoulder to look at him.

“We’ll find the right time, I promise” Blaine assured him, reinforcing his words with a kiss to the tip of Sam’s nose. “Because I love you so much”

“I love you too” Sam answered before giving his boyfriend one last long and tender kiss and offering him a hand. “Shall we get going?”

“Yes, or my brother will come look for us” Blaine joked as he bent down to retrieve the canteens from the floor without letting go of Sam’s warm hand. “See? If a walker wouldn’t catch us, Cooper would definitely do. And yeah, my brother is cool and everything, but I don’t feel like him walking at us while having sex”

“Making love” Sam mockingly corrected him, eliciting a heartfelt laugh from the shorter boy.

“That wouldn’t make much of a difference to him” Blaine added, this time him being the one to make Sam laugh.

“Yeah, probably. Damn it, I hate it when you’re right”

Still laughing about their silly conversation, they finished picking up the scattered canteens and bottles and resumed their way to the pond, knowing they couldn’t lose any more time if they didn’t want to make Cooper and the others worry about them.

But they hadn’t walked more than a few yards, still laughing and fooling around while holding hands and sharing tender looks, lost in their own little world, when a noise of some dry leaves being stepped on caught their attention. But unfortunately they weren’t quick enough to react and, before they knew it, a man holding a rifle appeared in front of them and stopped them in their tracks, while different noises behind them and on their sides told them they were surrounded.

“Looks, guys, looks like we managed to hunt a nice pair of preys” the man said, looking maliciously at the surprised and frightened boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I'm really really sorry about taking so long (life and myself kind of got in the way!) and, on top of that, giving you such a silly and insignificant chapter without any action. I wasn't going to finish it here, but it was already so long that I was forced to. And well, I needed to give Blaine a little rest anyway, so... But well, at least, and as you can see, lots of actions coming now! Thank you for being so patient and understanding! And yeah, you guessed, I'm not happy with this chapter, so I'll try doing better in the next one!


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, this one didn't take so long! ;)

Sam doubted his heart could possibly beat any faster than how it was doing it at the moment with the fear of noticing there were at least five men –who knew if there were more of them behind the trees?– surrounding them, all of them pointing their firearms at him and Blaine and cutting every possible escape route for them.

He was about to squeeze Blaine’s hand to communicate his fear to him and take reassurance in the fact that at least they were together, when he felt Blaine quickly letting go of his hand, the one he had been happily holding until then. Sam turned to look at him in surprise, but Blaine only slightly shook his head at him, as if silently asking him to let it go, and Sam wondered if there was any reason Blaine didn’t want for those men to know they loved each other…

“Leave your weapons on the floor very slowly” The man in front of them ordered in a voice that left no room for arguments.

Sam looked at Blaine again in hesitation, as if asking him about what to do –Blaine might have been out of action for some time, but that wasn’t going to make Sam forget about the reliable leader he had been until then–, but Blaine just nodded at him, telling him to obey as he himself was doing.

“Is that all you’re carrying?” the man asked when Sam left a gun and a knife, while Blaine only parted with his gun.

“That’s all” Blaine answered in what he hoped would be a convincing voice.

“Except for the knife so badly hidden in the waistband of your pants, right?” the man directly behind them announced, and Blaine winced at how clumsy his attempt of not leaving them completely unarmed had been.

“Oh, so we have a little hero here” the leader intervened, closing the distance separating them until he was standing right in front of the boy. “Give me that knife”

Blaine thought about trying to get that man by surprise and butt his head against his as hardly as he could now that he was so near, and if there weren’t another four men pointing their firearms at them –at Sam–, he would have. But he was a sensible person and he knew there was no way he could go away with that, so in the end he slowly took the knife from his pants and handed it to the man in front of him.

“Good boy” the man sarcastically said and before Blaine had time to react, he slapped him in the face with the back of his hand with all his forces as a punishment for his disobedience.

Blaine felt an explosion of pain and a sudden stickiness in his bottom lip, so he guessed that man had split it, but he refrained from making any sound of discomfort when he saw Sam about to jump on that man; instead he just put a discreet hand to Sam’s arm to stop him and sighed in relief when Sam seemed to understand and refrained himself from doing anything.

“Don’t even try to fool me again, kid” the man said in a threatening tone while pointing his finger at him. “Do you have any more weapons?”

“No”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t, I swear” Blaine answered, completely honest this time.

“You two are not alone, are you?” the leader asked, looking all around the place as if looking for something.

“What do you mean?” Blaine asked, frowning in confusion. “There is only the two of us here”

“I mean there is no way two kids like you have managed to survive for so long on their own. Where are the others?”

“There are no others” Sam intervened in a rush, as there was no way they were going to lead those men towards their friends and put them at risk. Because yes, they knew how to fight and they probably outnumbered those men, but the surprise could run in those men’s favor and someone could get hurt –or worse–, and he refused to lose anyone else.

“Yeah, right” the man sarcastically answered. “I’m kind of getting tired of you two and your lies”

“I’m not lying” Sam insisted, trying to keep a steady voice even if he was terrified about what those men wanted from them. “We are on our own”

“Look, you fucking punk, you’re going to start talking right now or you will never do it again” the man said as he place the barrel of his rifle under Sam’s chin, which made Blaine’s heart skip a bit at the threat.

“Ok, we’re part of a larger group” Blaine said, thinking as fast as he could to get the danger away from his boyfriend, ignoring the way Sam was looking at him in astonishment while he probably thought he was betraying their friends. “A much larger group, in fact. Maybe you’d want to meet them, we’re very hospitable with small groups like yours”

Sam had to fight the urge to grin at his boyfriend’s insolent reply, even if he hoped it wouldn’t cause him more trouble. So that’s what he was trying to do: not to guide those men towards their friends, but exactly the opposite, and that was keeping them away from the group by implying there were a lot of them, while trying to keep Sam out of trouble at the same time. If it wasn’t so risky he would kiss him right there and there for being so clever.

“Are you playing with me, brat?” the man almost spat at him, turning the weapon towards Blaine’s face this time, making Sam wince with fear for his lover.

“Stop it already, James” one of the other men intervened, getting impatient at all the time they seemed to be wasting. “He is probably telling the truth, can’t you see how many bottles and canteens they’re carrying? There has to be some of them. In fact they must have some kind of camp around because they’re not carrying any supplies, so we better leave fast before we find ourselves outnumbered”

The man in front of them –James, apparently– seemed to hesitate for a couple of seconds, looking intently at them as if trying to read their souls and determine if they were tricking him or not. But in the end he couldn’t find a reason to refute his mate’s arguments, so he sighed and roughly pushed Sam to get them moving.

“Start walking, both of you” he said to reinforce his gestures.

“Where are we going?” Sam dared to ask while stubbornly refusing to take a step, all the while looking worriedly at how his boyfriend was cleaning the blood of his lip with his knuckles.

“You don’t need to know that yet” the leader answered.

“But what do you want from us?” Sam insisted, resisting the urge to take Blaine’s hand as they were roughly pushed again so they would start walking –if only because he felt that’s what Blaine wanted him to do.

“Damn it, kids, start walking now or I’m going to get really angry!” James yelled at them, not really hiding how furious he was already, and Blaine nudged Sam’s side as a petition for him to start moving, not really wanting to see what James was capable of.

And Sam reluctantly obeyed.

**********

That was not the idea Blaine had of a peaceful walk when he had suggested it back at the farm: he and Sam had been kidnapped, they had no idea what those men wanted from them, they were now unarmed and he was starting to get tired –he had not been wrong about needing some training before attempting a strenuous activity…–. After all, he guessed they had been walking for at least half an hour, if not more, at a very quick pace, and his still weak system was starting to protest.

It must have showed on his face or his stance, because the next time his boyfriend looked at him he instantly could see something was wrong.

“Blaine” Sam whispered, trying to get closer to his lover without it being too obvious.

“I’m alright, Sam” Blaine answered, equally low, when he immediately guessed Sam was going to ask him how he was.

“Do you think you can hang on for a while?” Sam asked, and there was so much worry in his voice that Blaine’s resolution to hang on grew even more, if only so he didn’t have to see that distressed expression on Sam’s face again.

“Of course, Sam, don’t worry about me” he answered, hoping he sounded convincing enough. But of course Sam knew him better.

“I will tell them to slow down” Sam suggested, but he was stopped with a strong grip of Blaine’s hand in his arm.

“Don’t do that” Blaine hissed, terrified that his weakness would end up getting him or Sam into trouble –he didn’t trust those men, he didn’t think they were going to be very understanding to his physical state–. “I can keep going, ok?”

“Shut up, you two” the man directly behind them ordered, even pushing Sam a little to reinforce his words and his authority.

Sam and Blaine obeyed for a bit and stopped talking, knowing they had to do what those men told them if they wanted to stay safe. Maybe it was a bluff, but after the last time they had encountered some people –back at the prison–, they very well knew they couldn’t trust anybody.

Of course that didn’t mean Sam was going to stop worrying about Blaine. He looked tired and his face was flushed and sweaty. He hoped he wasn’t getting a fever of top of everything. Sam worried he wouldn’t be able to keep with the fast pace much longer, and his heart ached to see him struggling.

“Let me help you, at least” Sam suggested after a couple of minutes, keeping his voice even lower than before, so the men wouldn’t hear them.

“No” Blaine blatantly refused, not even daring raising his gaze towards his boyfriend’s face so he didn’t have to see the fear in his eyes.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want them to see you helping me, I don’t want them to know about us”

“Why?” Sam asked before he could stop himself, because it was not the first time Blaine had hinted it was better to keep that information to themselves.

“Because if they know they can use it against us” Blaine muttered in explanation.

And gosh, sometimes Sam hated when Blaine was right.

**********

Cooper sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time as he looked through the window which he hadn’t moved away from for the last half hour. He had known letting Blaine and Sam go alone was not a good idea even before they set a foot outside. Where were those two now and what the hell was keeping them so long?

“Relax, Cooper, they will be here in no time” Brittany said, feeling bad for the obvious struggle to keep calm going on inside Cooper’s head.

“They’ve been gone for too long” Cooper answered, for once not even trying to look strong and letting everybody know how worried about his brother he really was.

“Yeah, I was starting to think the same” Sebastian hated to admit.

“Maybe we should go looking for them, they might be in trouble” Cooper suggested.

“Come on, don’t be such a worrier, maybe they just got a little playful and are taking advantage of their alone time” Puck contradicted them, hoping to calm the oldest Anderson brother down a bit. “I mean that’s why they left in the first place, right?”

“They wouldn’t do that out there in the open, they’re not stupid” Sebastian intervened, knowing how responsible those two were about safety nowadays.

“And Blaine knows I would worry” Cooper added, his expression turning more and more sober by the minute.

“You guys are freaking out, they’re two teenagers with raging hormones, I’m sure they just lost track of time with their loving actions” Puck tried to convince them, but even he could see he was not going to be successful.

“They might be young and horny, but I know my brother and he would never risk his life, and much less Sam’s, for a screw” Cooper answered, almost angry at Puck for implying that Blaine would act so foolishly and at how he was trying to diminish the importance of their absence. “Plus it looks like it’s about to rain again, there is no way they can’t see it. I’m going after them. You can come with me or stay here, but I’m going”

“Come on, Cooper, you really want to walk on them while shagging?” Puck tried for the last time, even if he was starting to let himself be convinced instead of the other way around, the worry on those two starting to get contagious.

“I’ll take the risk” Cooper retorted with no trace of joking in his voice, and it was then when Puck understood he was really –and understandingly– worried. He just hoped he wasn’t right about his fears.

“Ok, let’s go find them” Puck finally relented as he stood up from the couch and followed the others towards the door.

**********

After an hour of walking, Blaine could hardly keep putting one foot in front of the other, so much his legs were shaking from exhaustion. The pace of the group hadn’t slowed down one bit even when the pouring rain started, and Blaine was dragging his feet so much he wondered if his shoes would survive such a torture. He was very aware of how Sam’s eyes were permanently on him, watching his every step, but it wasn’t until his knees buckled for a second that Sam finally forgot about being cautious and put his arms around Blaine to hold him upright.

“You can’t keep going, you are exhausted” Sam said as he held Blaine more strongly to his side in an attempt of helping him.

“I’m not” Blaine unsurprisingly replied, extricating immediately from Sam’s side-embrace. “I’m tired, but I can go on”

“You seem about to faint, you were not ready for a walk like this” Sam insisted, respecting Blaine’s wishes and letting go of him even if he didn’t move too far away, in case he needed to stop his fall again.

“It’s not like we have another option, right?” Blaine retorted in frustration as he resumed his walking as graciously as he could.

“Yes, we have, I will tell them to slow down” Sam said in a resolute tone that told Blaine that he wasn’t going to obey this time.

“No, you won’t” Blaine hissed at him in a desperate attempt to stop him.

“Excuse me” Sam raised his voice so some of the men surrounding them would hear him.

“Sam, no” Blaine begged as he pulled on Sam’s arm, but his boyfriend ignored him in what he thought was the best for him.

“Please, can we stop for a minute? My friend is hurt, he needs to rest” Sam announced, finally succumbing to his instincts and putting his arm around Blaine’s waist to help him stay upright.

“Hurt? How?” one of the man asked, as they hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary in the boy.

“He got a bullet on his shoulder only a few days ago and he is not completely recovered yet” Sam rushed to explained, encouraged by the fact that the man seemed willing to listen.

“Well, we don’t have time to lose, so he’ll have to make a bigger effort” James, the leader, intervened before any of the others decided to show any mercy. “Now move”

“He can’t” Sam insisted.

“Sam, leave it, I will try” Blaine said, extricating from Sam’s embrace once again so he could properly pretend he was alright.

“No, B, you can’t keep going on”

“I said move!” James yelled, making both Blaine and Sam jump with the ferocity of it.

“He can’t!” Sam energetically protested in response, as his boyfriend’s welfare was above any fear that man could elicit on him.

“Don’t make me repeat it again”

“Can’t you see he can barely keep himself standing?”

“Then we don’t need that kind of a burden” James answered with a sardonic smile that made Sam’s hair stand on end, even if he didn’t know why.

But before he could even wonder what those words meant, James covered the small distance between him and Blaine and hit him on his temple with the butt of his rifle with such a force that Blaine fell to the floor, unmoving, without uttering a single sound.

“Now we don’t need to worry about that anymore, right?” James sarcastically added, laughing at Blaine’s immobile body.

“Blaine!” Sam yelled as he tried to run to him, his fear only growing as Blaine’s face got half covered with blood trickling from a wound on his head, but two pair of arms immediately grabbed him from behind and didn’t let him come any closer to the fallen boy.

“You brought that on yourself” James told him, even if there was no need because Sam was already regretting having opened his mouth on the first place.

“Let me get to him” Sam begged, trying to free himself from his captors to no avail.

“Stop struggling and start walking now!” one of them said as he held onto him with renewed strength.

“Let go of me, you bastard!” Sam yelled as he continued struggling. “I need to check if he’s okay!”

“He’s breathing” James announced with a quick look at Blaine’s unconscious form. “Let’s go!”

“No! We cannot leave him there unconscious, if the walkers come they will devour him!”

“Yeah, that would be a very bad case of bad luck for him”

“Please, let me take him” Sam pleaded, trying not to burst into tears of desperation, and he would have even fallen on his knees if the arms holding him had allowed it. “I’m strong and he’s small, I’ll carry him over my shoulder, he won’t slow me down, please”

“I said no, and now start walking” James said as he nodded to the men holding Sam to get him walking, but once again he refused to move.

“Please, I’ll do anything, I won’t complain anymore, I swear, just let me take him” Sam begged, his voice breaking at the end, which elicited James’ curiosity.

“Ok, what is going on here? What is he to you?” James asked, looking intently at Sam, but the latter just looked down and refused to answer, remembering how Blaine hadn’t wanted for them to know about their love –and finally understanding why–. But it was too late now. “Ok, here’s the deal: either you start walking right now or I’ll stop caring about wasting bullets and I’ll put one in his brain and then you won’t have to worry about those things eating him”

“Please” Sam whispered, not caring about the tears rolling down his cheeks anymore because he knew there was nothing to hide anymore and what Blaine had been fearing, that they would use their love against them, was happening.

But instead of answering, James only pointed his rifle at Blaine’s head and loudly unlocked the weapon’s safety so Sam would understand how serious he was.

“No!” Sam yelled as he finally stopped struggling under the threat of that madman shooting at his beloved boyfriend. “I’ll go with you. Just… don’t hurt him. Please”

James smiled that wicked grin of his again before chuckling and moving his rifle away from Blaine again. Sam, true to his word, kept his promise and started walking away from his lover as soon as the two men let go of him, knowing what would happen if he didn’t. He felt a physical and stabbing pain in his chest as bitter sobs shook his whole body and guilt and regret filled every corner of his heart. Blaine had tried to warn him about letting their feelings show; he had tried to warn him that there was no room for weakness and that he could go on. But Sam hadn’t listened. Sam had been arrogant enough to think he knew better.

And now Blaine was hurt and he had been abandoned to his fate. And it was all his fault.

**********

“Ok, let’s cover the path again” Cooper suggested even if the three of them were already panting from the effort, as they had been walking non-stop for a couple of hours.

“Cooper, we’ve done that three times already” Sebastian hated to remind him.

“We must have missed something!” Cooper almost yelled, and Sebastian knew it was not only because he was trying to be heard over the pouring rain, but out from frustration and fear. “They can’t have vanished into thin air! There has to be some tracks!”

“If there were any tracks the rain already erased them, Cooper” Puck patiently explained, his heart breaking at the desperation he could see in the older man’s face.

“I don’t care!” Cooper screamed, not even trying to restrain himself anymore. “They have to be somewhere, and I’m not going back until I know what happened to them!”

Without even waiting for an answer or even turning around to see if they were following him, Cooper started walking towards the pond where Sam and Blaine were supposed to be going the last time they had seen them. The other two looked at each other and sighed, also worried about their friends and about Cooper’s sanity if they failed to find his younger brother, but in the end they followed him, not wanting to leave him alone in his state.

They were already making their way back, again with no luck and their hearts feeling heavier than ever, when they heard some rustling of leaves at some trees a few yards ahead of them.

“Careful” Sebastian whispered as he motioned for the others to get their weapons ready.

“Who’s there?” Cooper shouted, his heart beating with fear and impatience. Who was there? Did they have anything to do with his brother’s disappearance? “Show yourself!”

They were left speechless when the person appearing behind those trees was Blaine himself, his face half covered with blood and apparently hardly able to keep dragging his feet towards them anymore.

“Help me, Coop” he weakly said, and without any more sound he finally lost the last of his forces and fell to the floor, unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now I'm over 200.00o words, so this is officially my longest story ever!


	29. Chapter 29

Cooper only raised his gaze from his brother’s unmoving form after what felt like hours when he heard the special code at the main door in the form of a knock that they had agreed on, and Sugar rushed to open it for those outside.

“Have you found anything?” Cooper asked as soon as Puck, Jake, Marley, Santana and Brittany crossed the threshold and took their hoods off while trying not to drench the place too much with the rests of the pouring rain in their clothes.

“Not a sign” Santana answered with a sadness in her voice that reflected in the others’ faces.

“Fuck!” Cooper exclaimed as he pulled the blanket covering his brother higher up his chest to tuck him more efficiently, just to have something to do with his hands.

“Are the others back yet?” Puck asked, but he hadn’t even finished his question when Mike appeared right behind him, along with Sebastian, Trent and Kitty.

“We’re here”

“Anything?” Puck asked, although he perfectly knew the answer he was going to get by the desolation on Mike’s face.

“Not a thing” the other boy answered, almost in a whisper.

“Maybe Blaine will be able to tell us something, anything, that will help us find Sam” Trent said, trying to sound optimistic for the sake of everybody.

“If only he would just wake up…” Cooper lamented as he unconsciously caressed the curls on the top of his brother’s head, careful to avoid the deep gash he had found there when trying to clean the blood, after he and the others had managed to bring him inside and get him dry and comfortable on the couch again. “He’s going to be devastated when he wakes up and finds out Sam is not here”

“What do you think happened to them?” Marley finally made the question everybody had been wondering on their minds. “How did Blaine got hurt? And where the hell is Sam?”

“There is no way Sam would have left Blaine alone with a blow like that if it was in his hands” Unique added, her eyes shiny with tears at her friend’s more than probable fate.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Marley asked, afraid of what her friend seemed to be implying.

“That maybe Sam has…” Unique tried to explain with all the pain in her heart, but she interrupted herself with a sob before she could finish.

“Died and turned into a walker?” Puck bitterly finished for her, noticing the reproach in all the eyes suddenly turning to him. “What, not saying it won’t make it less true or painful. There is no way Sam is alright if that meant leaving Blaine injured and alone, and the sooner we assume we’ve lost him, the better for everyone”

“We don’t know for sure yet” Cooper tried to be reasonable, his heart breaking at the possibility that his brother had lost the love of his life just like that. “And it wouldn’t explain why Blaine was unarmed when we found him, even if we fully know he wasn’t when they left the farm”

“Which means it wasn’t an accident and he was attacked” Mike added.

“Yeah” Cooper agreed with a serious nod of his head. “We won’t know anything until Blaine wakes up anyway. Until then, there is nothing we can do for Sam”

“I think Blaine is regaining consciousness” Sebastian, who had remained silent until then while intently watching his best friend, announced to everyone in the room.

Cooper’s gaze turned immediately towards his little brother and noticed that Sebastian was right: Blaine’s face was timidly scrunching and there were little grunting sounds escaping from his split lips –the blow to his head was obviously not the only one he had received–. Not wanting to rush the younger man into consciousness before he was ready, Cooper perched on the edge of the couch next to him and refrained himself and the others from talking to him, just waiting for him to wake up on his own.

Only when Blaine moaned more loudly and his head moved to the sides a couple of times, as if trying to escape the sleep that had taken him prisoner in such a deep way, his brother dared to speak.

“Blainey?” he whispered in a tender way, and he couldn’t help a smile when he was rewarded with the image of Blaine’s huge and open eyes at last.

“Coop?” Blaine said, his voice barely audible, as he tried to fix his blurry gaze on his brother’s familiar face.

“That’s me. How are you feeling?”

But before he got any answer, Blaine suddenly jumped from his sitting position, only to wince at the immediate and obvious pain that the abrupt movement elicited in his battered head.

“Easy, little brother” Cooper kindly but sternly said as he put a hand on Blaine’s chest to stop any further movement. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

“Where’s Sam?” Blaine asked, his voice suddenly louder, his eyes now filled with fear along with confusion.

“We… we were hoping you could tell us that” Cooper tentatively answered, not wanting to lie but not wanting to directly tell his brother they didn’t have a clue about Sam’s whereabouts.

“We have to go find him” Blaine answered as if he was talking to himself, already resting his feet on the floor to stand up, but his brother stopped him again.

“Blaine, wait, you’re hurt, you need to…” Cooper tried to say, but Blaine’s anger interrupted him.

“I’m not going to rest, so don’t even dare” Blaine answered in obvious rage at the fact that his brother didn’t seem to understand the seriousness of the situation.

“Ok, but let’s be sensible” Cooper patiently answered, changing tactics so as not to enrage his brother even further. “Let’s trace a plan. Why don’t you tell us what happened so we know how to proceed?”

Blaine stopped for a second to look at his brother’s worried expression, the same one all his friends around him were wearing, and he understood he was not the only one affected by Sam’s absence –even if he doubted their chests felt as constricted as his did at the moment, barely letting him breathe with worry–. And besides, Cooper was right: it was probably for the better to stop for a minute and think about what to do, instead of just going crazy.

“We… were ambushed, I think” Blaine explained more calmly, but the rubbing of his fingers on his temple told everyone else how hard he was trying to made sense of his memories of the incident after his more than probable concussion.

“Was it… walkers?” Puck asked, unable to stay silent any longer at the possibility of having lost his best friend to those monsters.

“No” Blaine continued with a furrowed brow. “It was people”

Everyone winced at the revelation. Walkers were dangerous, but they knew how to fight them. With people… they had already had a taste of what people could do. What they were willing to do. And it was surely something they didn’t want to experience again.

“They attacked you? Is Sam…?” Mike tried to ask, but he couldn’t bring himself to finish the question –the loss of Tina at the hands of other people still too fresh in his mind.

“No, he was alive last time I saw him” Blaine perfectly understood what he was being asked and he didn’t want to leave the tiniest doubt about Sam’s chances. “There were five of them, but they were probably part of a bigger group. They were armed to the teeth and they took us hostages and they were leading us somewhere, they never said why or what the hell they wanted from us, but I was slowing them down and… I don’t remember anything else”

“They must have hit you, you took a hard blow to your head” Cooper explained as he sympathetically rubbed the back of Blaine’s neck with his hand, hoping to offer some comfort both to the pain in his head and his heart.

“They could be miles from here already if they were in such a hurry” Puck lamented, shaking his head in desolation.

“If he is even alive, because they obviously wanted something from him…” Santana added in a whisper, though some of the others heard her and lowered their gazed in sadness.

“Coop, we’ve got to find Sam” Blaine begged, suddenly desperate as he grabbed the lapels of Cooper’s jacket and looked pleadingly into the eyes of the person he trusted the most at the moment. “I don’t know what they wanted from him, we have to save him”

“But Blaine, we already looked for him…” Puck intervened, knowing it would be more difficult to refuse for Blaine’s brother.

“You didn’t look good enough” Blaine protested, starting to get really annoyed at the little help or understanding he was getting, and he stood up in such a rush that for a moment all the room seemed to spin and he swayed on his feet.

“Slowly, you must be pretty dizzy” Cooper gently admonished him as he hurried to stand up to and put his arms around the smaller boy to steady him.

“I’m not” Blaine answered as he extricated himself from his brother’s supporting arms, so confidently that Cooper couldn’t honestly tell if he is being honest. “Who’s coming with me?”

“Blaine, it’s been heavily raining for hours, there is no way we can find any tracks to follow” Cooper explained, his voice and his heart breaking at having to ruin Blaine’s hope, but he had to stop him from any foolish movement before it was too late.

“All the more reason to go as soon as possible, it’s not going to be easy” Blaine retorted, as he obviously wasn’t going to be convinced to let it go.

“But is it going to be worth it?” Cooper insisted, having to avert his eyes from his brother’s at all the pain he could see in them.

“What the hell does that mean?” Blaine asked in a whisper, though it sounded more terrifying than if he had just screamed it.

“What Cooper is trying to say is… I don’t think there is anything we can do for Sam” Sebastian answered, trying to save Cooper from breaking his brother’s heart.

“What?”

“Even if he was still alive, which seems unlikely… You said those men were leading you somewhere. What if they have a fort of some kind? What if there are a lot of them? You said they were heavily armed, weren’t they?”

“We can’t just enter their place like that” Puck intervened. “We will be massacred”

“Are you really telling me you are not going to even try?” Blaine asked, the tone of his voice showing them how he could not believe what he was hearing. “That you’re not willing to fight for Sam after everything he’s done for all of you?”

“We can’t fight them, Blaine. You know what happened the last time” Mike added, the expression in his face a mixture of fear, shame and pain –the image of Tina’s dead body still too vivid in his head.

“We can’t risk thirteen lives to save one…” Santana tried to reason with him, even if just one look at Brittany made her perfectly understand what Blaine was feeling. “Especially when… it would probably be for nothing”

“We don’t even know where they are, or how to find them” Brittany added, her eyes full of tears.

“I can’t believe it…” Blaine muttered as he took a couple of steps backwards, wanting to avoid several hands reaching for him, trying to offer some physical comfort –or to restrain him, he couldn’t be sure.

“Blaine, you have to understand…” Sebastian said, trying not to get offended when Blaine slapped his hand away before he could effectively grabb the curly-haired boy’s forearm.

“I won’t understand anything” Blaine answered in complete rage, even if his voice didn’t rise even one bit –although that made it all the more terrifying–, before turning around and starting moving towards the door. “I’ll go on my own if you won’t come with me”

“Blaine, wait” Cooper rushed to him and grabbed onto his brother’s arm to stop him, which he immediately could see was the wrong move when Blaine seemed to go crazy at that.

“Let go of me!” Blaine almost screamed while he struggled to extricate from his brother’s grip.

“Not until you stop and listen to me!” Cooper answered in the same loud voice, though he lessened the grip as soon as Blaine’s struggles ceased –after all, thanks to their age difference, Blaine had never been able to disrespect his brother, Cooper knew that and he had taken advantage of it. “It’s too dangerous, Blaine, and they probably…”

“Don’t you even dare, Coop” Blaine muttered under his breath in a threatening tone, obviously refusing to even think Sam might already be dead.

“I’m sorry, but it’s a chance you have to face… The most probable one” Cooper tried to reason with him, even if his own heart was breaking at having to cause his little brother more pain.

“And what if he’s still alive? We can’t just leave him there, Cooper, they will kill him”

“But Blaine…”

“Coop, please. I won’t stop trying while there is the tiniest chance to save him. He is my life” Blaine pleaded, and Cooper noticed how his eyes shone with tears that he stubbornly refused to share –that would feel too much as surrender. “There is no way you can stop me, Coop. Even if you tie me down I will find my way out of it and you know it”

“I won’t try to stop you, Blaine” Cooper reassured him with a tired sigh, the grip on his little brother’s arm moving to his shoulder for a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll go with you”

“But Cooper…” Sebastian tried to intervene, wanting to make the brothers reconsider their decision.

“I’m sorry, guys, but he’s my brother” Cooper explained with a sad shake of his head as he started putting on his jacket and grabbing his weapons, sounding so dejected and hopeless that it hurt. “Reasonable or not, I can’t leave him alone on this. And I already told you once, I won’t leave anyone behind”

“Even if he is dead?” Puck almost yelled before he could stop himself.

“We don’t know that!” Blaine retorted back at him in a equal loud voice.

“They left you to die without giving a fuck, Blaine. What are the chances that they didn’t do the same with Sam once they got whatever the hell they wanted from him? The only thing you’re going to accomplish is to make us lose you too” Puck added in a desperate attempt to stop them, even if he knew it was probably not going to make any good.

“Go to hell, Puckerman” Blaine spat at whom he had considered his friend until then, feeling enraged at how selfish he could be that he was making it about himself while Sam was probably fighting for his life right in that very moment. “If he was here and it was one of you there, he would never give up on you. On anyone of you! And you know it! You’re all a bunch of cowards!”

“Blaine…” Sebastian tried, but Blaine didn’t even look back this time and he was out of the door before anyone else could say anything, his brother close at his heels, and the slam of the door resounded in their hearts as if suddenly they were empty.

**********

“I think…” Blaine said while rubbing his temples, as if he was trying to get rid of that fog in his mind that didn’t let him remember clearly about the moments previous to the blow on his head. “I think we hadn’t reached the pond yet when those guys ambushed us. Maybe if we follow this trail…”

Cooper had taken him to the exact place where he had found him, hoping the familiar surroundings would make him remember something, anything, about what had happened before those horrible men had given him a serious concussion. Something that could help them find a way to get to Sam. But judging by the pain and the desolation in Blaine’s face, the oldest Anderson could see he was not being successful.

“There are no tracks, buddy, we already checked when we were looking for you both” Cooper answered.

“Then we just need to retrace the way I came after they injured me, right? Maybe we’ll eventually find some tracks or something that tells you where they went”

“And you think you can remember?” Cooper asked, trying not to sound too doubtful. But if Blaine wasn’t even sure when or where they had been ambushed, it was highly improbable he would remember where he was coming from when he was already injured.

“Yes, I think so” Blaine answered as he confidently started walking in what Cooper knew what not the right direction.

“Blaine, you were not even coming from that way” Cooper stopped him, his heart breaking at having to contradict his very upset little brother.

“Shit, I can’t remember anything…” Blaine lamented as he hit his forehead with the palm of his hand and then proceeded to rub his face in guilt and frustration.

“Don’t blame yourself” Cooper said in an understanding tone as he rushed to him and put his arm around his shoulders in a half embrace. “I’m quite sure you’ve got a concussion. It’s only normal you’re confused”

“Normal or not, it’s keeping us from getting to Sam” Blaine said, full of regret, as he gratefully rested his painful head on his brother’s shoulder for a second, just before extricating himself from his arms and starting walking in the opposite direction. “So was I coming that way when you found me?”

“Yes” Cooper answered, feeling sorry for his brother but proud at his unbreakable determination at the same time.

“Then let’s go, we don’t have any time to lose”

Cooper had to run to catch up with his brother, so quickly he was walking in the direction he had pointed out for him. And it was not that he was surprised, because he knew Blaine was the most stubborn person in the face of the Earth at the best of times, so in a situation like that and with his boyfriend’s life at stake… But he was still injured, with more than a probable concussion and still convalescing from a bullet wound, he shouldn’t be so strong, right?

But Cooper guessed what they said was true: love can do anything.

“Any chance you know if I was following that path or just going cross-country?” Blaine’s question after a while took him out of his reverie.

“No, thanks to the slight elevation of the terrain I didn’t see you until you were practically on top of us” Cooper reluctantly admitted. ”But since you were injured and so confused, I pretty much doubt you would have been able to find the way back cross-country. I say we try following the path”

“Alright” Blaine instantly agreed, thankful for Cooper’s initiative so he didn’t have to make all the decisions.

**********

More than two hours later they were still walking and they didn’t feel any closer to Sam or to even knowing anything about his fate. Cooper could see how his brother was getting tired, as they were keeping a quick pace and hadn’t stopped to rest for even a second, but he restrained himself from commenting about it because he knew he wasn’t going to get his brother to rest anyway and the last thing he wanted was to upset him any further.

Both their spirits fell even further when they ended up in kind of a crossroads that made it impossible to continue advancing without making a decision. But how? How could they choose what path to follow without any clue?

“What do we do now?” Blaine asked in a small voice, reminding his brother of when he was just a scared little child waiting for his almighty big brother to make it all better. And Cooper wished he could still fix every one of his little brother’s problems. But he couldn’t.

“I don’t know” he admitted with a sad sigh. “There is no way to know which way they went” or even if they passed by here, Cooper finished for himself, not wanting to discourage his brother even further.

“If we follow the wrong path, we will lose so much precious time” Blaine lamented while his shoulders seemed to fall with all the weight of the world.

“I don’t think we have another option than to try on one of them, though” Cooper answered.

This time it was Blaine the one to sigh, and for once he didn’t even try to pretend he was not exhausted as he let his back fall against a tree at the edge of one of the paths, wanting to rest and regain his breath while trying to make a decision. If only his head didn’t hurt so badly… His gaze fell to the ground, trying to avoid the pity he knew he would find in his brother’s eyes, and it was then when some maroon paper on the dirt caught his attention and he crouched to take it.

“What’s that?” Cooper asked, having noticed the change in Blaine’s stance.

“Sam left this here” Blaine answered, completely unable to stop the huge smile breaking into his lips or the hopeful tears making his eyes glassy. “We had these sweets and he kept the wrappings on his pocket, he let this one fall to let me know he was here”

Cooper rushed to embrace his little brother with all his forces to let him know he shared his happiness and his relief. Sam was alive –or at least had been until recently–, and they were going the right way.

“You have a very clever boyfriend” Cooper casually commented, glad of the shaky chuckle he was able to elicit on his brother. “So he was telling us which path to choose, right?”

“Right” Blaine agreed with a enthusiastic nod, knowing that Sam was indeed very intelligent and that had been his way of telling him where they were taking him. And the fact that Sam trusted him so much that he knew he was going to look for him just made him fall in love with the blond boy all over again. And he wasn’t going to stop until he was in his arms again.

**********

Back at the farm, they had been absorbed into a very somber atmosphere: a tense and heavy silence had fallen upon the youngsters after Blaine slammed the door to show them their disappointment on them, and the pain at having lost Sam, plus probably Blaine and Cooper too, mixed with the guilt at their lack of action was becoming a burden too heavy to support.

Especially to Sebastian, probably the person closer to Blaine amongst those remaining in the house. Guilt and shame were eating him alive, and just the thought of never seeing his friends again, especially Blaine, with his warm heart and his dorky laugh, was enough to bring tears to his eyes every few minutes since he had caught the last glimpse of the petite boy.

Because he knew he had lost him, one way or another. Even if Blaine survived, and even if he managed to find and save Sam, the shorter boy would never forgive him for giving up on the blond. For being such a coward. For promising he was going to be his friend and then fail him when things got difficult. And Sebastian knew he wouldn’t even have the right to protest, because Blaine would be right.

He still hadn’t moved from the window from which he had watched Blaine and his brother walk away until they disappeared in the woods, and he felt the darkness outside mirrored the one in his heart too much. And suddenly he couldn’t stand it no more, and a sob escaped his throat before he could stop it.

“Seb…” Trent said in a comforting tone as he moved to stand next to his friend, as he hadn’t wanted to leave him alone.

“Don’t even try” Sebastian tried to stop him, his raging guilt not letting him be comforted.

“There was nothing we could do for Sam, Seb” Trent tried to reason with him, hating to see his friend so upset, but of course Sebastian was not going to make it easy for him.

“But how can we be sure?” Sebastian finally dared to make the question everyone had been wondering about. “And even if that was the case, and we couldn’t do anything for Sam, what about Blaine? We could have been there for him”

“Blaine should have realized it was hopeless, he wasn’t thinking clearly”

“All the more reason not to leave him alone then, don’t you think?” Sebastian sarcastically retorted, as if Blaine being upset was a reason to abandon him, instead of the other way around.

“We would have just been giving him false hopes” Trent insisted, although by the tone of his voice Sebastian could see he was slowly caving in. After all, Trent had the biggest heart and he loved Blaine almost as much as he did.

“So instead we just left him to his fate, right?” Sebastian insisted, and Trent’s guilty silence only encouraged him to continue. “Do you remember when we found Blaine and Sam in the first place, and how we were so angry that their friends had abandoned them in that hospital? We couldn’t believe it”

“Yeah” Trent admitted with a guilty expression, guessing where Sebastian was going to.

“How is this any different? Didn’t we fail them exactly the same way?”

“It’s not the same”

“No?” Sebastian asked with a sarcastic chuckle. “Isn’t Blaine alone again because his friends were too afraid to fight with him?”

Trent didn’t know what to answer to that. He knew Sebastian was right; deep in his heart, he had known it from the beginning. But they had so much to lose if they decided to fight those people… Yet it wasn’t fair to abandon Sam like that. Nor Blaine. They had fought like warriors for everyone else, didn’t they deserve the same?

“Trent?” Sebastian took him out of his stupor, practically begging him to agree with him even if he was only saying his name.

“We’re going no matter what I say, right?” Trent asked in a joking tone, perfectly knowing how stubborn Sebastian was and how he was going to end up doing whatever his taller friend asked him.

“Blaine is our friend… Our leader in a way” Sebastian insisted, even if he already knew Trent was going to support him. “And now it’s him who needs us”

“And Sam could still be alive, right?” Trent finally dare to admit, now that he had let himself be convinced of giving it a try. “We’re not going to leave him there to die, after how he’s fight for everyone”

“Exactly” Sebastian agreed with a smile before enveloping Trent in a grateful hug, knowing he could count on his loyal friend whenever he needed him.

As Trent started getting their things ready, Sebastian tentatively walked back into the living room, where all the others were –most of them doing nothing, just sitting around, lost into their own thoughts–. He knew his words were not going to be well received, but well… he cared more about Blaine, Sam and Cooper than they did about their opinions.

“Guys, Trent and I are going after Blaine and Cooper” he announced in a soft voice, almost afraid of their reaction.

“I thought we had agreed…” Jake tried to say, but Sebastian didn’t even let him finish.

“We were wrong” he interrupted the younger boy. “We should have never let them go on their own and we intent to correct our mistake. We understand if you still feel like staying here, but anyone willing to fight will be welcome to come with us”

“I’m going” Mike surprisingly offered. After all, he had never been the same since Tina died so they didn’t expect him to be the first to offer. Yet he did. “I lost Tina and no one knows more than me how Blaine must be feeling. And yet I failed him”

“Mike, we’re never going to find Sam alive” Puck intervened, even if his heart was breaking at putting his biggest fear into words.

“Even then I’m going… if only to be there for Blaine in case we can’t save Sam” Mike added as he left his place in the sofa to get ready to go. “He will need someone who understands what he is going through”

“We’re going too” Santana said, looking at Brittany for confirmation, which she gave her in the form of a nod. “Blaine risked his life to get Brittany out of that laboratory when McKinley was attacked, even if he was injured. I owe him the same”

Sebastian smiled at the unexpected supports he was getting amongst the friends. It almost seemed as they had been waiting for someone to take the first step, as if they couldn’t stand the guilt anymore. And he couldn’t feel prouder of them when Kitty, Sugar and Unique also agreed to go.

“I think you’re all mental” Puck said when he realized only he, Jake and Marley were still sitting –though he guessed the other two had yet to jump from their seats only out of respect for him–. “But I’m not going to be the only one to stay behind. Let’s fight” he added with an encouraging smile towards the rest of the group. Because yes, maybe they didn’t stand a chance. But as Cooper had said, they were not going to leave anyone behind.

“Ok, then let’s go” Sebastian said with the widest smile.

**********

The relief and excitement slowly fell down as hours passed and they found no new sign that they were going to find Sam. It was already dark and very cold, and only the fact that it had finally stopped raining kept them from completely falling into despair.

Cooper watched as his brother dragged his feet over the ground, unable to lift them enough to walk properly anymore, so exhausted he was. And the constant shivering in him, caused by the cold and the dampness of his still wet clothes, only contributed to make him look as the picture of misery. There was no way he could go on like that, and Cooper had relented for long enough. It was time to stop.

“Squirt, do you see that little opening on the rocks right there?” Cooper casually commented as he pointed some yards away right in front of them. “I bet it’s big enough for the both of us to spend the night. Maybe we can even light some fire, I feel the cold seeping through my old bones and I need to warm up”

“Cooper, I can see what you’re doing, but I can go on” Blaine unsurprisingly refused, grateful for his brother’s worry but not yet ready to surrender.

“Blaine, we can’t keep going on in the dark and we need to rest” Cooper insisted. “I’m sure they will stop too if they’re still walking, it’s too dangerous to advance in the dark, with all those walkers around”

“We can’t lose that much time, Coop” Blaine begged for his brother to understand. “And we haven’t found a single walker since we arrived to the farm, and you know it”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t start meeting them again any moment” Cooper tried to make him see, and this time Blaine knew he couldn’t refute the argument. “Please, little brother, just listen to me for a second. It has stopped raining, and the ground is full of mud, which means they’re going to start leaving tracks now unless they hide them, which I doubt they will because they don’t know we’re following them. We won’t see those tracks in the dark, and we don’t want to miss them, right?”

Blaine remained silent, not wanting to admit how right his brother was and how much sense his words made. And he felt so tired… But stopping felt like failing Sam, right?

“Plus I know you don’t want to admit it, but we both need to rest, especially you” Cooper went on, hoping he wouldn’t send his brother in the defensive with that. “You can’t keep going on forever, and if we rest a bit, you’ll be refreshed in the morning and you will be able to endure whatever you need. And we’re both going to catch pneumonia if we don’t get warmed up soon”

Blaine sighed in surrender, knowing his brother was right.

“But as soon as the sun is up…” Blaine said as the only sign of resistance, letting his mind convince him even if his heart told him otherwise.

“At the first ray, I promise” Cooper answered, willing to compromise to anything as long as his brother let him take care of him a little. “And now come on, let’s see if we can make ourselves comfortable in there” he said as he put his arm around his brother and gently guided him towards the little cave waiting for them.

**********

Cooper woke up in a fright at a loud noise, and it took him a couple of seconds to understand they were not being attacked: it had just been a particularly loud crackle of the fire next to him, and he was quite surprised it was still going. After all, the ache on his back told him he had been sleeping on the floor for at least a couple of hours, so the fire should have died down by then. But he only needed to open his eyes to understand why that happened: Blaine had been keeping it alive because he was, and probably had been all along, very much awake.

“Hey, Squirt” Cooper whispered as he sat up, not wanting to scare his brother in the stillness of the place, in case he was too lost into his thoughts.

“Hey” Blaine answered, still jumping a little at the sudden interruption of his thoughts even with his brother’s caution.

“You should be sleeping” Cooper gently admonished his little brother as he crawled over the small distance separating them to get closer to the boy, hoping to offer some comfort.

“I tried, Coop, I swear” Blaine answered, and he sounded so desperate to be understood that Cooper could only believe him. “But every time I close my eyes…”

“Yeah, I get it” Cooper gently interrupted him, not wanting to let his brother put into words all the horrible scenes probably going on in his head. “You can’t stop thinking about him, right?”

“No” Blaine admitted, and it was when his gaze fell again to his hands that Cooper realized that what the boy was holding was the candy wrapping they had found in the forest, almost as if that would keep him closer to the boy he loved.

“Want to talk about it?” Cooper offered, knowing there wasn’t much more he could do for his brother right in that moment than to listen to him.

“He gave me those candies when we were walking to the pond, because he is the sweetest thing and he loves spoiling me” Blaine started explaining in a soft voice, almost as if he was talking to himself, and a sudden and fond smile erased the sadness in his face, even if it was only for a few seconds. “He hid them for me because he knew they were my favorite flavor and he didn’t want me having to share them with the rest. He even took the wrappings so I didn’t have…”

But Blaine couldn’t even finish the story as his voice broke, and the tears he had been holding all day finally made an apparition. Cooper’s heart broke at the very tangible grief emanating for his brother, and he was afraid that the young boy was starting to lose hope.

“Schhh, it’s okay, Blaine” Cooper murmured while putting his arms around Blaine’s upper body and making him lean against his chest in what he hoped would be a comforting way, but he didn’t’ try to stop Blaine tears because he know he had been holding them for too long.

“I can’t live without him, Coop” Blaine confessed with a sob he couldn’t stop, knowing his brother would never judge him for the intensity of his emotions, even if he was very aware of how little time he and Sam had been together and how hard it could be to understand how much he loved him anyway.

“And you won’t have to” Cooper answered, understanding –always understanding. “We’re going to find him”

“You said it was highly improbable” Blaine reminded him, and Cooper hated himself for creating those doubts in Blaine’s head, even if he had just been trying to protect him.

“Yeah, but then you convinced me otherwise and now I believe we have to try” Cooper answered. “And he left that wrapping, right? Sam would never give up, and neither will we. You need to keep the faith”

“I’m not that strong” Blaine confessed with a sob that went directly to Cooper’s heart.

“Yes, you are” Cooper contradicted him, squeezing him even more strongly to his chest as he used to do when Blaine was little and he needed to protect him from something. “Gosh, Blaine, I don’t even know how you managed to find us in your state, but you did”

“I only knew I had to get you, because I knew you would help me”

“I know. You held on until you saw me and then, and only then, you fell unconscious practically at my feet, completely spent”

“Did I?”

“Yeah. You’re a stubborn little cuss” Cooper said, and he knew Blaine was smiling even if he couldn’t see his face, hidden as it was under his own chin. “You’re strong, Blaine, the strongest person I know. You’ve always been. And if your massive strength isn’t enough, then we can share mine, because I’m here for you”

“Thank you, Coop” Blaine said, more calmly now as he let his brother’s words sink in and he also put his arms around him in a grateful embrace. “I don’t know how I would survive this without you”

“You’d find a way” Cooper joked before kissing the side of Blaine’s head in an affectionate way.

**********

“So that’s it” the man closest to Sam said with a tired sigh. “This is our final destination”

Sam raised his glance –he had been too tired to do it until then– and looked at what that man was proudly pointing at: their fort. Or what they believed to be a fort, because to Sam it wasn’t more than a pathetic attempt to make themselves believe they were safe. But just a wooden wall around a few buildings? The destroyed and devastated houses outside the wall made Sam think those people had just managed to save the last of the buildings of a town and naively build a poor fort around them. As if that was going to be enough to stop the apocalypse.

Even if they seemed to keep watch at all times –if the four people stationed behind the entrance was any proof of that–, there was no way that was going to last long. How they had lasted until then, Sam didn’t know.

“Come on, quick, the lurkers at the other side of the city are finishing with their prey and will be here soon!” one of the women on top of the wall rushed them as they opened the door for them, wanting them inside before it was too late.

The group immediately obeyed, and Sam didn’t even care which one of the men were roughly pushing him anymore. He just made sure to get his hand into his pocket as furtively as he could manage and get the other candy wrapping still kept there. He let it fall right next to the entrance before letting himself be pushed, knowing that, if Blaine had managed another one of his miracles and had survived, he would find his way to him one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably the first chapter I ever wrote with no direct balm interaction... That was hard!!


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I can't keep apologizing, right? ;) At least is long!
> 
> Especially dedicated to ALEX J, who so kindly asked me to continue ;)

“Coop?” Blaine softly said at the same time that he shook his older brother’s shoulder to wake him up, but not even his precautions were enough to keep him from jumping in surprise.

“What? What’s wrong?” Cooper asked as he abruptly sat up, as he had obviously been having a very light sleep.

“Easy, it’s just me, nothing is wrong” Blaine reassured him while sympathetically rubbing his shoulder, feeling sorry he had scared him in the first place. “But it’s already light and we should get going”

“Alright” Cooper immediately agreed, knowing that Blaine had been patient enough during the night. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better, my head hardly hurts anymore” Blaine answered in all honesty.

“Did you sleep at all?” Cooper asked, not failing to notice the dark bags under his brother’s eyes.

“Not much…” Blaine admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. “But I least I rested, right?”

“Yeah, I guess it’s something…” Cooper answered with a sigh, hoping they had at least something to eat so his brother wouldn’t have to go on with an empty stomach, but all they had was water, so they would have to do. “Ok, let’s go”

They resumed the path they had been following the day before, hoping Cooper would be right and they would eventually find some footprints that would tell them those men had gone that way. But nothing. They probably had had a good start ahead of them and maybe they had even reached their destination before the rain finally stopped. So they would have to keep trusting their luck and hope those men hadn’t left the main trail they had been following since the day before.

There had been walking for a couple of hours, with practically no conversation between them, when they got to a little elevation of the terrain and they found themselves mere yards from of a wooden structure they didn’t know how to define.

“What’s that?” Blaine asked in a whisper, not wanting to be too loud in case there was anyone around –after all, he was sure there had to be people living there.

“I don’t know…” Cooper answered, equally soft. “Looks like a fortification to protect the people inside, even if it doesn’t look too secure”

“Look!” Blaine exclaimed a little too loudly, pointing at some purple glimpse next to the wooden wall.

“What is it?”

“I think it’s another one of Sam’s candies!” Blaine exclaimed in exhilaration before trying to run towards it, leaving the safe place behind some trees behind which they were hiding without him even noticing.

“What the hell are you doing?” Cooper angrily muttered as he grabbed Blaine’s arm and unceremoniously pulled him back to their hiding place. “There is a woman up there, can’t you see her?” Cooper asked, pointing at a woman on top of the wall at the far side of it, who was quite obviously on watch. “If she sees you, you are a dead man”

“Sorry, Coop” Blaine immediately apologized, even blushing a little about how thoughtless he had been. “I didn’t think”

“You don’t say!” Cooper sarcastically answered, finally letting go of his little brother’s arm now that he knew he was not going to escape. “We need to be careful”

“At least now we know Sam is there” Blaine answered with a little smile, daring to be hopeful for the first time since they had found the other wrapping the day before.

“Yeah” Cooper answered while putting an arm around his brother to squeeze him to his side in understanding, though he wasn’t so optimistic because that they had brought Sam there didn’t necessarily mean he was still alive –they had brought him there for a reason after all, right?

**********

Sam woke up with a start, because he hadn’t even realized he had fallen asleep. But apparently he had been so tired when those men left him there in the dark the night before that he hadn’t been able to resist. Even considering he was sitting up and his hands were tied up to the wall behind his back.

“Morning” a voice sounded nearby, and Sam gave such a jump at the unexpectedness of it that he even hit his head on the wall. “Relax, I’m not one of them”

Sam looked at the woman sitting a few feet from him and whose presence he hadn’t noticed until that second. It had been completely dark, after all, when they arrived the night before, and that woman seemed to be part of the corner in which she was sitting, so crouched in there she was. And then Sam had fallen asleep, and that woman apparently had respected that and had refrained herself from making any noise until she was sure that Sam was awake.

“Then who are you?” Sam asked, not even thinking about his usually impeccable manners.

“I’m no one” the woman answered with a sad grin. “Just like you from now on”

“Where are we?” Sam continued, desperately needing some answers now that he was part of the world again.

“No idea. It seems like some kind of town, but I don’t really know” the woman explained. “I haven’t been out of this room since they brought me here three days ago”

“It looked more like a fort to me. A pathetic fort” Sam answered, his voice full of disdain towards the people that had kidnapped him and Blaine.

“Yeah, but there are at least forty or fifty people here. An entire community”

“So the apocalypse…?”

“Is that how you call it?” the woman asked with a chuckle, already liking the boy in front of her. “Well, yes, the apocalypse arrived here too, but those ones survived. And apparently they’re not willing to accept it yet and they continue living the same way they did before… as far as possible”

“But so many people have to make a lot of noise, and even smell… That’s why there weren’t any walkers around. They are all attracted here” Sam said, almost as if he was talking to himself as he started putting two and two together.

“That’s right” the old woman answered, glad to see the boy in front of her was clever and a realist.

That boy, though, started all of a sudden frantically trying to free himself from the wall behind him, even though it was completely impossible considering he was being held by shackles and chains that were really strong. She knew, she had tried that herself before giving up when he realized it was in vain. Something that boy hadn’t realized yet, judging by the angry red his wrists were turning into and the trickle of blood starting to fall from one of them at all the pulling.

“Son, you’re hurting yourself” the old woman tried to warn him, but Sam ignored her and continued trying.

“I can’t stay here” Sam answered, almost as if he was talking to himself while still pulling, until he let out a frustrated and painful groan when he realized there was nothing he could do.

“You think any of us wanted to be here?” the woman asked him with a humorless grin.

“Us?” Sam asked in confusion, as there was only him and that woman in that room.

“Oh, people come and go all the time. I came here three days ago and you’re the fifth person I meet”

“And where are the others?”

“Probably looking for some brains to eat out there” the woman cryptically answered, though Sam perfectly understood.

“You mean…”

“Yeah. Either they’re dead or have turned into one of those monsters”

“How?” Sam asked, horrified at everything he was discovering about that sinister place.

“Why do you think they bring us here?”

“I don’t know”

“To use us” the woman answered, and by the dull tone of his voice he really sounded like someone who had already seen it all even if she was talking about being killed. Sam hoped that, whatever happened, he would never get to care so little. “To protect themselves and this thing they have created”

“But how?” Sam insisted, desperate for answers.

“There is not just one way, whatever they might need: throwing us to the walkers if they need a distraction, using us as shields if they should fight them…”

Sam had to fight the urges to vomit at what that woman was implying. So they had caught him and Blaine to use them, to have them killed to save their asses? It was possible that human kind, or what was left of it, had degenerated so quickly when put to the test?

“They can’t be so evil” Sam exclaimed, appalled at the news.

“What would you be willing to do to save your loved ones?” the woman told him in a serious tone, looking intently at him as if willing him to deeply think about what he would do for the people he loved. Like Blaine, who had been left unconscious in the middle of nowhere, within range of any stray walker or even other people as devious as those ones. And yes, he would do anything for Blaine. Like escaping that place to get to him if it wasn’t too late yet.

“I have to get out of here” Sam said as he tried again to rid of the shackles encircling his wrists.

“You can’t” the woman tried to make him see.

“There has to be a way out of here” Sam desperately said even if he couldn’t help a wince at the pain he was causing to himself with all the pulling. “I need to go”

“With these chains?” the woman sarcastically replied, which only helped to anger Sam.

“Then we’ll have to think of something!” he yelled in frustration

“There is no way out of here, and the sooner you accept it, all the better for you”

“You just gave up?”

“Son, I lost all my family… I have nothing left to fight for”

“How…?”

“To those eaters out there. At least here I don’t need to see them and be reminded of what I’ve lost”

“Well, I’m not going to accept it, I need to go” Sam protested, but he was forced to stop pulling when he could see his wrist starting to bleed again and no advance made so he ended up yelling in frustration.

“Why?” the woman asked, because that young man looked really desperate, as if he had more reasons to escape.

“Because I was not alone” Sam answered with a shaky voice because of the effort made and the desperation when thinking about his boyfriend’s possible fate. “Those men took me and my partner”

“And where is she now?” the woman asked, as she knew the boy had arrived alone.

“He” Sam corrected her in a proud tone.

“Sorry, where is he now?”

“They left him to die in the middle of the woods” Sam answered, feeling his eyes starting to fill with tears as he remembered how he had felt at having to leave Blaine there like that.

“How?” the woman asked in an understanding tone, feeling sorry for that boy that seemed to be suffering so much for his boyfriend.

“He was still recovering from a very serious wound from a few days ago and he was kind of slowing those monsters down. They hit him on the head and just left him there, unconscious, in the middle of nowhere” Sam explained, his voice getting softer and softer with each word.

“If he was unconscious out there…” the woman didn’t need to finish his sentence for Sam to understand what she meant.

“I need to go and look for him” Sam insisted, even if he could there was really nothing he could do as long as he was trapped in that basement.

“Son, when did that happen?”

“Yesterday”

“There is no way you’re going to find him now, son. I’m so sorry” the woman honestly said, full of compassion for the young man in front of him.

It took a whole minute for Sam to react to that woman’s words. He had refused to even consider there was a big chance that Blaine hadn’t survived out there, but now that someone else had put it into words… He knew she was right: what chances did Blaine have in the open, wounded and unconscious? That considering the blow hadn’t killed him anyway… And all because Sam had been unable to keep his mouth shut. Because he thought he knew better.

“It was my fault” Sam lamented as he finally broke down in pitiful sobs he couldn’t –or didn’t care– to control.

“Why do you say that?” the woman asked, feeling the young man needed to let it all out.

“Because he didn’t want me to tell those men they needed to slow down when he started faltering, and I did it anyway…” Sam continued, even if it was hard to understand him because of how hard he was crying. “If I had listened to him… He’s like the smartest guy ever, he always knows what to do, why did I think I knew better?”

“You were only trying to protect him” the woman tried to reassure him, her maternal instincts kicking in at the obvious suffering in the kindhearted boy in front of her.

“And I got him killed instead” Sam lamented, his sobs intensifying at the thought he would never see Blaine again… and it had been all his fault.

And this time nothing that woman said was enough to make him feel better.

**********

“We need to find a way in” Blaine urgently said after a couple of minutes of them just standing behind those trees that were hiding them from view, as if they were waiting for something to happen that would change their situation. Though it didn’t.

“I know” Cooper admitted with a frustrated sigh. “Maybe we could jump up the wall, but not without a distraction”

“Maybe I can go in while you…” Blaine tried to suggest, but his brother didn’t even let him finish.

“If you think I’m going to let you go in there alone you’ve got another thing coming” Cooper answered almost angrily, as if that was the most stupid thing he had ever heard. “No, whatever we do we’re doing it together”

“But how?” Blaine insisted, almost desperately.

“I don’t know, let me just think for a minute” Cooper answered. “If we could just…”

Cooper continued talking, but Blaine stopped listening when his heart stopped because a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder in a strong and unexpected grip. But he recovered quickly enough –he had a lot of experience by then, anyway– and lifted his knife in front of his face in a quick movement, ready to attack if it was necessary.

“Stop, Blaine, it’s me” a familiar voice reached his brain just a second before he was going to use it, and thankfully stopped him before it was too late.

“Geez, Sebastian, don’t ever do that again, I was close to embedding this in your head” Blaine answered in a shaky voice as he saw his friend in front of him, covering his face with his hands for protection, and realized how close he had been to killing him.

“I’m sorry, Killer, but we saw the fort, we saw you hiding and we were trying to be silent” Sebastian tried to excuse himself, uncovering his face now that he could see he was safe.

“Well, you did it very well” Cooper protested, also lowering the weapon he had raised when he had felt his brother was in danger.

“I’m sorry” Sebastian repeated, awkwardly smiling in embarrassment.

“You’re all here” Blaine suddenly exclaimed when he looked behind Sebastian and he noticed all of his friends were there. “You all came”

“Late, but you know what they say, right? Better late than never” Puck joked when he noticed how moved Blaine was.

“But guys…” Blaine tried to protest, but he couldn’t find the words to express his gratitude.

“You were right: we were behaving like a bunch of cowards” Sebastian added, accompanying his words with a reassuring squeeze to Blaine’s arm, hoping to make himself forgiven for failing him and to make Blaine understand how much he still cared about him.

“Thank you” Blaine told his friend with a honest smile before turning to the rest. “Thank you all”

“You shouldn’t be thanking us. It’s us who should be apologizing” Trent, also quite visibly ashamed at their behavior, intervened.

“You’re here now and that’s all that matters” Blaine answered, before turning serious again: he knew it had been him encouraging them to come, but he needed them to understand it was not going to be easy. “You know the risk you’re taking, though, right?”

“Right” Santana answered with no hesitation. “The same risk Sam or you have been taking for the rest of us from the beginning. What a poor way of repaying you, right?”

“We’re not going to leave Sam alone” Brittany intervened.

“We’re not going to leave _you_ alone in this” Sebastian added, looking intently at his friend.

“Hey!” Cooper jokingly protested.

“I meant you two!” Sebastian corrected himself, blushing with embarrassment until Cooper laughed.

“It’s okay, I’m still glad you’re here” Cooper reassured him with a friendly pat to his back that made Sebastian smile in relief.

**********

Their presence there was not noticed by the woman keeping watch on top of the entrance to the fort, but what she did notice was that all the walkers around seemed to be getting kind of nervous and more and more of them were gathering around. Of course they were being attracted by the new presence of Blaine, Cooper and the rest, but she didn’t know that. The only thing she could see was how there were more of them than just a few minutes ago and how they were all pushing into the door. And yeah, well, the wall had stood until then, but she couldn’t take any risks: the whole community depended on her.

“Hey, Rob!” she yelled at someone at the ground. “We need a distraction!”

“Lucy, we’ve been using distractions too freely lately, we only have two of them left!” the man complained.

“The wall will fall if we don’t do anything about it, perhaps you’ll want to explain it to the Major when that happens” Lucy replied from her place at the top of the wall, already feeling how it was starting to shake under the pile of walkers’ weight.

“Alright” Rob finally relented, not wanting to be the one to confront the Major. “I’ll bring one of them here”

Rob rushed his way back to the house in which their prisoners were being locked up, nodding in salute at the man keeping watch there as he passed him by. He wasn’t looking forward to telling the major there was only one prisoner left –they had had up to six at the same time only a few days ago, they surely needed to be more careful with them–, but as Lucy had said, having their fort falling down was surely a worse option. And they could always go out in search of more prisoners anyway, even if last time they had only been able to bring one.

“Ok, you” he said pointing at Sam as soon as he opened the door to the basement in which they were being held, as he was the one closer to it. “You’re coming with me”

“Where?” Sam asked as his legs starting shaking, a million thoughts going through his mind about what that man wanted to do with him.

“You don’t need to know” Rob answered as he took a key out of his pocket and moved closer to Sam, to which the latter instinctually recoiled more closely to the wall.

“I’m not going anywhere with you” Sam answered, trying to sound confident and not as terrified as he was really feeling but to his surprise, that man only laughed at his insolence.

“It’s not like I asked for your opinion, did I?”

“Hey, you” the woman suddenly intervened. “I’ve watched people come and go since I arrived three days ago, I think it’s my turn”

“What?” Rob turned to her in surprise. “You wanna trade places with him?”

“Yes” the woman answered with no hesitation, feigning to do it for selfish reasons. “I’m tired of waiting here to die, it’s not my fault you tied me up so far from the door and I want to be the next one”

“What do you think of that, kid?” Rob asked, turning to Sam again. “Should we just let her take your place?”

Sam was unable to find his voice to answer. He wanted to say no, that she didn’t need to take his place, as he didn’t want any more deaths on his conscience. But he was so scared… He was trembling so badly he was sure they had to see it, but he couldn’t stop himself from doing it. He wanted to be brave, like Blaine always was. But he couldn’t. He didn’t want to die like that.

One look at that woman, though, and Sam understood that he had to let her go. She quietly looked at him and nodded, as if telling him that it was alright, that she was willingly taking his place. As she had said before, she didn’t have anything to fight for, and he still had the tinniest chance of finding Blaine…

“It’s not his decision, it’s mine” the woman intervened, not wanting to make Sam decide whether or not she was going to die. “I’m begging you, I’m going crazy in here and you don’t even care who you take, right?”

“Right” Rob admitted, finally letting himself be convinced and moving to the woman instead. “The eaters don’t care about the menu, you know?”

Sam felt like throwing up again at that man’s comment, as it meant two things: that they were really going to throw that woman to the walkers and that he didn’t have even the tiniest regret about it, if he even dared to joke about it. Sam couldn’t believe people could get like that even if circumstances like those. After all, he and his friends had suffered just as much and they would never do something like that. Or at least he hoped they would never get to that point.

“Thanks” Sam said, almost in a whisper, just before the woman disappeared from his sight forever. After all, she was giving her life for him, and even if she wanted to make them believe it was for selfish reasons, he knew better.

“Stay strong, son” were her last words from her to him. And then she was gone.

**********

“So what’s the plan?” Puck asked, raising his gaze up to have a good look at the fort.

“We were trying to come up with one” Cooper answered. “We think Sam is in there”

“We _know_ he’s in there” Blaine corrected him, looking at his brother almost defiantly.

“Of course” Cooper reluctantly agreed, even if he wasn’t as confident about it as his little brother. “Blaine and I were going to try and break in over the wall, but of course we needed a distraction or that woman up there would see us even before we reached it”

“We can provide that distraction” Mike immediately answered, getting his gun out of the waistband of his pants.

“Yes, but… it could be dangerous” Blaine warned them, not wanting for anybody to get hurt when trying to help him.

“Not necessarily” Puck intervened. “I mean, we are not looking to conquer the city or anything, even if they deserved that for what they did to you and Sam. We only need to keep them busy, right?”

“We can shoot at them from behind the trees and make sure to stay hidden” Kitty added, confidently nodding at her friends.

“It doesn’t have to be that dangerous” Marley agreed confidently.

“And once you both and Sam are back with us, we’ll just disappear and they can stay here with their ridiculous fort and their dirty consciences” Puck finished with a shrug of his shoulders, as if he wanted to prove he was not worried at all about the situation.

“What do you say?” Blaine asked, turning to his brother as his was the opinion he cared about above all the rest.

“It sounds reasonable” Cooper admitted, even if he knew it was not an ideal solution by any means and it was not as danger-free as they wanted to believe.

“Ok, then let’s do it” Blaine encouraged them, and they were about to look for a good place to hide when Jake noticed some movement on top of the wall.

“Hey, look!” he caught everyone’s attention, pointing at the place where the guard have been alone until now, where now there was another woman and a man.

“What are they doing?” Brittany asked, looking at how the man seemed to be pushing the second woman.

“Could they be more guards? Maybe her shift ended” Trent suggested, also looking intently at the scene.

“No, that one is in chains” Brittany answered, pointing at the woman who had traded places with Sam, unbeknown to them all.

“What are they…? Oh my God!” Marley exclaimed horrified at the scene unfolding in front of her.

And what had horrified all of the youngsters so much was the fact that the man was pushing the woman towards the edge, even if she was trying to resist. They fought for a few seconds, the woman being in clear disadvantage because of the chains, until the woman that had been taking watch until then intervened and helped. The shriek the prisoner produced as she fell from the wall was something none of them would ever forget, unlike the thump of her body on the floor which never happened: she landed amongst the larger group of walkers standing right at the door, and the agony of her screams didn’t leave much to the imagination of the friends about what was happening.

They remained unmoving, quiet, unable to tear their eyes off the grueling scene for whole minute, too shocked about what had just happened. They couldn’t believe that’s what they used their prisoners for. So that meant…

“Oh God” Blaine exclaimed as he started trembling without even noticing. “Cooper, what if…?”

“Schhhhh…” Cooper tried to stop his brother from even thinking about the possibility that Sam had ended the same way as that woman, and tried to put his arm around him in a comforting gesture, but Blaine refused the contact.

“Coop, Sam…” Blaine tried again to form a coherent sentence while his eyes filled with tears and anguish.

“We don’t know if they did that with Sam, Squirt, they probably didn’t even have the time” Cooper again tried to reassure him.

“Coop…”  Blaine repeated as he grabbed the front of his brother’s shirt in desperation. Didn’t his brother understand how serious the situation was?

“Ok, you have to calm down, okay?” Cooper said in the most comforting and calm voice he could muster under the circumstances, trying to keep his brother from going into panic as he took one Blaine’s hands in his. “Sam is somewhere in there, and he needs you. You’ve got to keep a cool head, same as you’ve been doing until now, ok?”

Blaine gulped and breathed deeply a couple of times before he nodded at his brother. Cooper was right: what they had just seen didn’t change anything, and Sam was probably still somewhere inside and he was depending on them. And of course he didn’t have any intention of failing him.

“Good boy” Cooper praised him with a reassuring smile as he tried again to put his arm around his brother, and he was glad this time the contact wasn’t refused. “Ok, this changes nothing. Get ready and look for a good position to hide, guys. The battle starts now”

Even if most of them were still pretty affected by what they had just seen, they put their feelings aside and rushed to comply with Cooper’s orders, moving amongst the trees towards a safer and closer position to the entrance of the fort. They knew they had to be really careful, because as soon as they started shooting they would have to fight against the walkers too, so that’s why Puck motioned for them to jump on the trees, so that way they would be able to avoid them more easily.

Cooper and Blaine patiently waited until everybody was in their place –except for Sebastian and Trent, who would accompany them at the beginning to help them jump to the other side–, ready to make a run towards the wall before they could be seen. And then, Puck nodded at his friends and fired the first shot towards the fort, which was immediately followed by those of his friends.

Blaine only waited until he could clearly see the woman and the man on top of the wall turning to the shots in surprise, ready to fight, before he started running like crazy. Cooper was caught unaware by the unexpectedness of it, but he quickly recovered and followed his brother, just as the other two boys did.

They ran to the other wall of the fort, even if it was a bit far, so they wouldn’t be seen even if the guards turned to them, and only took a second to recover their breaths before going along with their plan.

“You’ve got your guns with you?” Trent asked the two brothers, even if he knew them enough to know they would never do anything without being fully ready for it.

“Yes, so come on, let’s not waste any more time with conversation” Cooper answered as he motioned for Trent and Sebastian to join their hands so he could climb on them and they could lift him enough for him to reach the edge of the wall.

It wasn’t that difficult for the two of them to lift Cooper enough, and he soon disappeared behind the wall. Blaine was about to do the same when Sebastian stopped him with a hand to his shoulder.

“Please be careful, Killer” he pleaded him in a serious tone that made Blaine see how much his friend appreciated him and how much he was going to worry.

“I’ll see you in just a little while” Blaine answered as he took Sebastian in his arms and embraced him as strongly as he could, with the implicit promise that they were going to reunite again, to which Sebastian only nodded before he and Trent also helped Blaine jump to the other side of the wall.

Sebastian felt empty for a second, terrified that this was the last time he was going to see the two brothers, but Trent gently pushed him towards the trees again and he knew the only thing he could do for them at the moment was to take his place and start shooting.

**********

Blaine landed on his feet and then fell down on his butt, such was the force of the jump. His brother had already recovered, and he rushed to take his hand and pull him upright before someone could see them. Fortunately they had fallen in a pretty secluded place, just behind a little wooden hut that looked like those ones especially created for storing tools, and Cooper motioned for him to remain quiet with a finger to his lips.

They only dared to poke their head around one of the corners of the hut and they were not surprised to see more than a few people running towards the entrance of the fort, weapons in their hands, to fight that unknown enemy that had started shooting all of a sudden. That meant their plan was working and a great diversion had been created. But it also meant that their friends were in danger, and they hoped everyone would be alright and no one would end up hurt –or worse, or Blaine would never forgive himself.

“Stay there!” they heard one of the people running yelling at someone else who seemed to be keeping watch in front of a house, and the latter, though reluctantly, obeyed.

“They must be keeping Sam in there, if they feel the need to guard the house” Blaine whispered in his brother’s ear, daring for his heart to hope they were not too late and Sam would still be alive.

“You’re probably right” Cooper answered with a smile, feeling hopeful for the first time that they would indeed succeed in their mission of saving his brother’s boyfriend.

“Then let’s go” Blaine answered, full of excitement, and he was about to make a run now that everybody had passed by when his brother grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Not so fast, little brother. Let’s see if there is something in here that can prove useful” Cooper said, pointing at the hut with his head.

Blaine, although reluctantly because he was so impatient, nodded and followed his brother carefully around the hut so they could get in. Cooper couldn’t help the biggest smile at what he could find inside as, amongst seeds and all kinds of tools to work the land, they found an ax, a machete and a couple of knives that would surely be very useful.

“Uh, I like this one” Cooper said with a mischievous grin as he took possession of the ax and handed the machete to his brother, to replace the one he had in the past and that he had lost in one of his battles to survive. “You keep the machete, it suits your eyes”

“You’re so funny” Blaine protested even if he couldn’t help a small smile breaking into his lips at his brother’s inopportune jokes.

“It’s time now” Cooper said, more seriously, as he barely lifted the curtain in one of the windows to look outside. “We’ll have to reach the house from the back if we don’t want that man to see us until we’re there, but then we’ll have to fight him if we want to get in”

“We’ll do whatever it takes” Blaine answered, trying to sound more confident than he really felt, because he had been forced to kill a human being before, that man about to shoot Sam and Puck at the roof of the prison in what felt like a lifetime ago, and it was something he was not looking forward to repeat –as he still had nightmares about it sometimes.

As Cooper had predicted, it was easy for them to go all the way to the house in which Sam probably was from the little alley behind without being seen. Then Cooper was about to go first, but Blaine overtook him and, in complete silence, he made it to the man from behind and covered his mouth with his hand so he wouldn’t be able to alert anyone of their presence.

“Say a word and you’re a dead man” Blaine murmured to the man’s ear, directly pointing his gun to his temple.

“Do it, Blaine” Cooper encouraged his brother as he reached them when he saw the hesitation in his eyes.

Blaine tried to pull the trigger, he really did, but the thought of killing someone in cold blood, someone who was defenseless in his arms, was bigger than him, even if he knew said man was partly responsible of taking Sam away from him.

“Come on, Blaine, do it” Cooper pressured him again.

Blaine was shaking with indecision and guilt, and when his finger refused to obey him again, he grabbed the gun more strongly in his hand and hit the back of that man’s head with the gun’s handle, letting him fall to the floor when he immediately fell unconscious.

“He might bring us trouble later” Cooper reproached his brother while looking at the unconscious man on the floor.

“I just… I couldn’t” Blaine tried to justify himself, looking imploringly at his brother to be forgiven, to which Cooper only sighed, understandingly.

“Let’s not waist any more time” Cooper suggested with a reassuring squeeze to Blaine’s shoulder and then he ran into the house, closely followed by Blaine.

**********

Meanwhile the others were doing a great job at keeping the people in that community busy. They were not shooting a lot –they didn’t want to run out of ammunition, if that was possible–, just enough for those people to worry. If the situation wasn’t so serious, it would have been almost comical to see them so frantically searching for that invisible force that was shooting at them, as they couldn’t see them in the trees. They just shoot back to where they thought the shoots were coming from, so it would be practically a miracle if they managed to hit one of them.

“Great, guys, we’re doing great” Mike praised them, as he observed how more and more people were climbing on top of the wall to fight them, which meant they left the path clear for Blaine and Cooper to move around inside.

“What do you say we reinforce our attack, so we get absolutely everyone up there?” Santana suggested. “We need to give the guys more time and make it easier for them in case they don’t know where to find Sam”

“Plus it’s funny to see them so lost” Puck added, only half joking. “They’re forming a shooting gallery without even noticing”

“Ok, let’s make sure we give Blaine and Cooper a chance” Sebastian said, and he started shooting more conscientiously.

The others did the same, and it wasn’t long before they realized Puck’s plan was working and the people up the wall kept calling on the others to help them. The walkers were piling on the entrance again, attracted by all the ruckus, so they couldn’t go out and they were forced to fight from the top of the wall.

“They’re going to regret the moment they decided to attack one of us” Puck murmured before he shot again.

**********

Blaine and Cooper ran desperately all around the house, carefully opening door after door in case there was someone there ready to attack them. But the house seemed to be empty, and there was no trace of any person being there –including Sam.

“Shit, I was sure he would be here” Blaine lamented as he covered his face with his hands to rub it in frustration.

“So did I” Cooper admitted, letting his hand rest on the back of his brother’s neck for comfort. “But he’s not here. Unless…”

“Unless what?” Blaine’s attention immediately perked, and he even uncovered his face to be able to look questioningly at his brother.

“Unless there is a basement”

Blaine didn’t even wait to see if his brother was following before he ran outside the house again, and only when he turned around the corner he was able to see an entrance to a basement half hidden under some scruffy bushes.

“In here!” Blaine yelled triumphantly before his brother shushed him, just in case. “I don’t know how we didn’t see it before”

“Because we were not looking for it” Cooper answered.

“It’s locked with a chain and a padlock” Blaine explained, his hopes shattering once again as he unsuccessfully tried to open it.

“Let me” Cooper ordered while gently pushing his brother aside so he wouldn’t get hurt.

Cooper grabbed the ax he had collected from the tool hut only a few minutes ago in a fierce grip and let it go with all his forces on the chain. He missed the shot by more than a few inches, hitting the metallic door instead, and looked guiltily at his brother.

“Ok, this is not as easy as it seems” he tried to justify himself, before he tried again and succeeded this time. “Now careful” he advised his brother as soon as he was able to open the door. “There could be more people inside”

Blaine tried to control his impatience as he started descending the stairs to the basement, his gun extended in front of him just in case he found someone ready to kill him in there. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the semidarkness and it was then when he could decipher a figure looking tentatively at him, probably blinded by the light coming from outside, but Blaine only needed a second look to recognize that blond hair he loved so much.

“Sam” he said, almost in a sob, as he made sure there was no one else in the room that could mean danger.

“Oh my God, Blaine” Sam exclaimed, immediately recognizing the voice of the person he loved so much, even if he couldn’t see him against the light. “Is that really you?”

“I’m here, Sammy” Blaine promised as he hurried the last of the steps.

But what Blaine wasn’t ready for was the way in which Sam broke down at his mere presence, desperate sobs ripping through his chest in a way that broke his heart, so he quickly put his arms around him and held him more strongly than he had ever done before, even if Sam couldn’t reciprocate with his arms chained up to the wall.

“It’s okay, Sammy” Blaine whispered comfortingly into his ear, his hand immediately moving to caress the hair on the back of his head. “We found you. We’re going to get you out of here”

“Don’t move, Sam” Cooper warned him as he showed him the ax which with he intended to cut his chains.

Cooper breathed deeply to encourage himself, knowing he couldn’t afford to miss this time if he didn’t want to hurt Sam, and with one clean blow he was able to efficiently cut the chains immobilizing Sam. Of course, as soon as he was free, Sam threw his own arms around Blaine’s frame, still holding him, not even bothering to regain circulation in them first.

“Sam” Blaine whispered when Sam continued sobbing and clinging to him for a longer time than expected, worried about his mental state –he couldn’t even imagine what he had been through to be so affected. “Easy, Sammy. You’re free now”

“I thought you were dead” Sam was finally able to talk, and Blaine almost broke down in sobs himself when he finally understood it was him whom Sam was crying for so desperately.

“Well, I’m not” Blaine assured him with a smile when he broke the embrace and cupped Sam’s cheeks so he would look at him. “Not while you depended on me, you know”

“I’m so sorry, you hear me?” Sam desperately apologized as he clung on Blaine’s arms. “It was all my fault, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you”

“Hey, it doesn’t matter” Blaine reassured him in the calmest voice he could muster, knowing Sam needed him to stay level-headed in order to calm down. “I’m here now, ok?”

“But they could have killed you or you could have been found by walkers… and it would have been my fault” Sam insisted, not ready yet to be forgiven. “You said you could go on and not to tell them to wait but I didn’t listen”

“You were just trying to protect me, as you always do”

“And I was so arrogant to think I knew better”

“Sam, you were right, I couldn’t go on” Blaine admitted while his hand moved again to Sam’s hair, this time to lovingly move it out of his face. “If we hadn’t stopped I would have probably fainted a couple of steps later and they would have left me there anyway. It didn’t change a thing”

“But I almost got you killed. That blow you took…” Sam explained, still shuddering at the reminder of how they had hit him and left him there to die.

“Sam, listen to me: it’s okay, alright?” Blaine insisted, cupping Sam’s face again and gently shaking it to make him react. “I’m here. I’m alive”

Sam nodded and breathed deeply a couple of times to try and calm himself, and he even managed to smile when Blaine so lovingly dried the tears in his cheeks with his gentle thumbs. It was alright: Blaine was there. He was alive, and he had come to get him. Just as he knew he would do.

“You ok?” Sam asked after a few seconds, his fingers gently tracing the ugly-looking cut near Blaine’s hairline that those men had done the day before.

“I’m ok now” Blaine answered with a reassuring smile as he took Sam’s hand from his forehead and held it in his. “What about you? You ok?”

“Yeah, they didn’t do anything to me” Sam reassured him, bringing Blaine’s hand to his lips to kiss it, almost as if he couldn’t stop touching him to make sure he was real. “How are you even here?” Sam asked in amazement, now that the initial shock of seeing him alive had faded.

“You knew I would come” Blaine answered with a smile, proud of his boyfriend’s intelligence and of the trust Sam had always deposited in him. “That’s why you left those candy wrappings for me to follow, right?”

“Well, I knew if there was someone able to do a miracle like that, that was you”

Blaine smiled at him again, and Sam couldn’t help it anymore and captured his lips in a slow kiss, meant to reassure them both of the love they still shared and of the fact they were fortunately alive and together again.

“Boys, we should get going, we don’t know how long the others are going to be able to hold them up” Cooper said, hating to interrupt but knowing they didn’t have much time before those people realized it had all been a trap.

“You’re right” Blaine admitted, blushing in embarrassment as he reluctantly separated from his boyfriend and stood up, offering a hand to Sam to help him up.

But before he took a step, Sam also made sure to put his arms around Cooper for a moment, wanting to show him how grateful he was to him too.

“Thank you for coming Cooper” he said, and Cooper immediately understood he was not only thanking him for coming to save him, but also for not leaving Blaine alone on that.

“Of course” Cooper answered, awkwardly reciprocating the hug for a moment, feeling silently grateful that his brother had managed to find someone who cared about him so much. “And now let’s go”

“Wait, there was a woman here with me, we’ve got to help her” Sam said, suddenly remembering about that woman that had saved his life.

“Was she wearing a red shirt?” Cooper asked, dreading the answer he was going to get.

“Yes! Yes, that’s her” Sam excitedly answered when he realized the brothers had seen her. “You know where she is? We’ve got to help her”

“There is nothing we can do for her now” Cooper lamented.

“She’s dead?” Sam asked even if he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.

“They threw her out of the walls and to the walkers… as a distraction” Cooper explained, still trying to come to terms with what they had just seen.

“She saved my life” Sam explained with a sad sigh, willing himself not to cry again for the woman that had just given her life for him. “She made them pick her instead of me”

Blaine shivered for a moment at how close he had been to watching Sam being the one to be fed to the walkers, but Sam noticed and took a moment to put his arm around him in a half embrace and kiss his temple, wanting to reassure him that he was alright.

“Come on” Cooper gently encouraged them with a pat to both their backs. They didn’t have any more time to lose.

**********

Meanwhile outside things remained more or less the same: the McKinley students kept shooting from their hiding place and the community kept trying to defend themselves from the top of the wall they had built to protect their city.

“They are really stupid” Mike commented after a while. “They don’t know what to do, and the only thing they’re achieving is for more and more walkers to gather at their door with all the noise and their presence”

“We should just kill them for their own good” Puck answered, only half joking.

“I think they’re going to manage that themselves” Kitty seriously intervened. “Look at the wall”

What Kitty was pointing at was the fact that the added weight of all the people up there, plus the constant pushing of the increasing group of walkers on the ground, was making the wall tremble dangerously.

“Oh my God, it’s going to fall!” Sugar practically screamed.

“Stop shooting!” Santana ordered. “We don’t want for the walkers to enter while Blaine, Sam and Cooper are inside!”

Everyone obeyed, but it was too late: the wall suddenly crumbled to the ground in the entrance, sending all those people down. Some of them were able to escape, but most just fell on the walkers, which quickly took advantage of the situation to do with them the same they had done with that woman only a while ago, ending up in a horrific concert of crying and screaming that terrified them to the chord.

The friends stood petrified in their hiding places for a few seconds until Sebastian’s terrified voice and the thud his feet made when he jumped to the floor got them out of his reverie.

“Come on!” he screamed. “We’ve got to get them out of there!”

He didn’t even stop to see if they were obeying before he started running towards the entrance, but by the sounds behind him he knew they were following him. He clutched his weapon more strongly in his hand and breathed deeply a couple of times before he started running even faster. It was time to fight.

**********

Sam had to cover his eyes when they made it outside, after being so many hours in almost complete darkness, but he didn’t need to worry, as Blaine’s hand was strongly holding his and guiding him every step of the way.

“It’s not going to be easy, but we should try jumping in the same place we…” Cooper began to say, but a horrible gurgling noise that he knew so well interrupted him.

They only had to turn around to see an enormous hole in the wall that had protected the place until then. And coming through it, there was what looked like dozens of walkers walking steadily towards them with nothing standing in their way.

“God…” Cooper exclaimed, gulping noticeably. They had no way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I don't know when they next chapter is going to come out, considering how much effort it takes me to write this and the fact that I'm going away for a few days, but... I'll try not to disappoint you too much!


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the moment we were all dreading is finally here... i'm so sorry :( I hope you can find it in you to forgive me!

“Run!” Cooper yelled at the top of his lungs, and he didn’t wait to see if the others were obeying before he started running himself towards the spot in the wall they had used to enter before.

Blaine strengthened his grip in Sam’s hand and ran behind his brother, pulling Sam along without giving him the time to think. Fortunately for him, Sam trusted the Anderson brothers unconditionally –he had seen enough of them to know he wouldn’t want to be with anyone else in a situation like that–, and he quickly recovered from the shock and ran next to his boyfriend, glad of the grip they were keeping between their hands and that reminded him he was not alone this time.

Cooper stopped right in the same place they had used to get in, and only took a moment to look at the walkers, getting closer to them, before he grabbed Sam’s shoulder and moved him to stand in front of him.

“Ok, Sam goes first” Cooper explained, using his age as a leadership right as he joined his hands and motioned for Sam to get his foot on them. “We can lift him up between the two of us as Sebastian and Trent did with us”

“Cooper…” Blaine tried to protest, imagining where his brother was going with that, but Cooper didn’t give him the chance and kept on with his plan.

“Then I’ll lift you” he continued explaining, even though he kept himself from looking at his brother so Blaine wouldn’t be able to read his intentions. But of course Blaine knew him better than that and didn’t even need to.

“No, Cooper” he immediately opposed, while Sam looked alternatively at the two brothers, not completely understanding what was happening as he still didn’t know how they had managed to enter the fort.

“You aren’t that heavy and I think I’ll be able to do it on my own” Cooper continued, ignoring Blaine’s protests.

“Coop, stop”

“…you’re agile, I know that with just the right push…”

“Stop!” Blaine yelled at him, cupping both his cheeks to force him to look at him and make more of an impression. “We aren’t going anywhere without you!”

“But Blaine…” Cooper tried to protest, even though it was useless because his brother had immediately read his intentions.

“If Sam and I jump to the other side there won’t be anybody to help you! There is no way you can make it to the other side on your own, and we’re not leaving without you, ok?” Blaine continued, his eyes full of anger at the mere thought that his brother could think he was going to do something like that.

“It’s the only way” Cooper tried to sound stern, as their age difference had always given him some authority over his usually respectful brother, but he knew this time Blaine was not going to obey, no matter what he said.

“Then we’ll have to find another way, but I’m not leaving this damned place unless I do it with both of you!” Blaine yelled, leaving no room for argument as he shook his brother’s arms to let him know how serious he was.

“We don’t have any firearms”

“Then we’ll have to fight them hand-to-hand. It’s not like it’s the first time we do that”

“Ok” Cooper finally relented, half angry that his brother wouldn’t listen to him, half moved at how moved at the intensity of Blaine’s emotions and his refusal to leave without him. “Then… let’s fight”

The three of them turned to face the huge group of walkers making their way towards them and their hearts trembled with fear at the thought that they might be too many for them to fight. Blaine handed Sam the machete his brother had given him, knowing the blond was still unarmed, and unconsciously pushed him behind him in an absurd attempt of protection, knowing Sam was still a bit confused and stiff after so many hours sitting down with his arms tied and in the dark.

But another look at the hell in front of him, and he knew he was not going to be able to protect Sam any longer: they had to fight.

**********

“Sebastian, wait!” Trent yelled behind him, knowing his friend was way faster than he was and he would never reach him otherwise.

“We’ve got to help them!” Sebastian protested over his shoulder, not wanting to waste even one second if it could mean any difference for their friends inside.

“Getting yourself killed it’s not going to make any good!” Trent rebuked, and there had to be a lot of desperation in his voice because this time Sebastian listened to him and stopped, even if the shaking of his body clearly belied how much he wanted to start running again.

“What?”

“Let’s be reasonable” Trent continued, this time addressing everybody. “It’s not only the walkers we have to deal with, we don’t know for sure if everyone in there died with the fall”

“You’re right” Santana lamented with a sigh. “They could very well be hidden behind the wall to ambush us”

“But we need to take advantage of the fact that all those walkers are busy… eating right now” Sebastian contradicted him, not wanting to put into words the horrible scene they were being witnesses of even from afar.

“That’s true” Mike easily agreed, as it would be so much easier to fight them that way.

“I say we advance slowly and kill as many of those monsters while they’re still eating” Puck suggested. “And a couple of us should go on the front and make sure there’s nobody behind the wall waiting for us”

“That’s too risky” Trent objected.

“Do you have any other ideas?” Puck said, looking intently at the former warbler. “Because you saw how many walkers got it. There weren’t so many people up there so as to satisfy all the walkers, and I’m sure there are a lot of them making their way inside, with Blaine, Sam and Cooper. We need to help them, there are only three of them against dozens of those beasts, even hundreds, and that assuming they found Sam and he is good enough to fight”

“Ok” Trent easily agreed, knowing Puck was right and well… that’s why they were there after all, right? To help Blaine and Cooper find Sam. “Let’s do it”

“I will go in front” Puck immediately offered, wanting to make up for his previous resistance in that crusade.

“I’ll go too” Kitty added before anyone else had the chance, knowing she was one of the best shooters anyway.

Sebastian felt deflated for a moment he hadn’t been quicker to volunteer, such was his need for action, but he knew he could trust Puck and Kitty and he was going to be right behind them, anyway, fighting as if there was no tomorrow.

**********

Blaine gulped at the huge amount of walkers that were starting to corner them against the wall. Surely they had fought a thousand times before, but he doubted there had ever been so many of those monsters. And they didn’t even have a lot of weapons: he had handed Sam his own machete, so all he was left with was a couple of knives, too short for his taste because it implied having to get really close to the walkers to kill them and needing to be very precise in his attacks. And, as Cooper had pointed out, none of them had firearms.

What pained him the most was having to fight next to the two people that meant the world to him: if one of them didn’t make it, it would destroy him because that would mean either losing the brother who had practically raised him and had crossed half the country to find him, or the man he loved as he had never loved before, the only one who gave meaning to the hell they were living and whom hadn’t separated from him from the moment he had admitted his feelings towards him, making him happy even in the middle of all that madness.

And he knew those two wonderful men were probably having similar thoughts towards him, praying they wouldn’t have to see him die, knowing their hearts would never recover from such a loss. And if only for that, Blaine knew he had to fight until the last ounce of strength in him. And that was what he intended to do.

Screaming in rage and encouragement to the other two, Blaine reinforced the grip on his knives and ran towards the walkers, knowing it was better to meet them half way instead of waiting for them to completely trap them against the wall. It was the only chance they had, and he had embedded one of his weapons in a walker’s skull before Sam and Cooper were even able to react.

**********

“Now!” Mike said in a low voice, once the plan had been carefully designed, as a signal for them to start running towards the fallen entrance.

Everyone immediately obeyed, knowing it was better to run than to walk because it wouldn’t give the walkers time to react, distracted as they were in finishing off their victims. They tried to be as silent as possible, though, so as not to attract any undesirable attention, either from the biters or from any possible survivor inside.

Puck and Kitty followed the plan and walked in front of the rest. The idea was for everyone to start silently killing as many of the walkers concentrated on eating as they could before they started reacting, while Puck and Kitty went ahead and made sure there was no one waiting for them passed the wall.

The gruesome scene was more and more unbearable the closer they got: disemboweled bodies, severed limbs, walkers ripping pieces of meat with their teeth… Marley got nauseous as she discovered one of those people still breathing slightly as she was being devoured so slowly, and the occasional whimper they could hear showed them that woman was not the only one still alive. And yes, even if they were their enemies and they had demonstrated how much they deserved to get a taste of their own medicine, the youngsters couldn’t forget they were –or had been– people, and that they had suffered the worst probable death right in front of their eyes.

Once they were practically to the entrance, and they reached the first walkers, they started silently embedding their weapons on the monsters’ brains, not wanting to use their firearms if they could help it both to avoid the racket and to save ammunition. It worked at first, as walkers were really not intelligent creatures, and the students could easily move forward quite a bit. But it wasn’t much later when the walkers seemed to pick on their essence and, as soon as they finished off their last victim, they started getting on their feet to pursue their next prey. And then fighting became a necessity, as they started becoming surrounded by walkers whose hunger didn’t seem to be satisfied at all.

Puck and Kitty were practically to the wall now, and Kitty turned to look at the boy as if to ask if he was ready. So when Puck nodded, Kitty breathed deeply and took a couple of steps forward through the whole in the wall, her gun pointed in front of her as her eyes turned all around her, searching for any sign of trouble. But she hadn’t made it too far before a shot suddenly broke the silence of the place and she fell to the floor.

**********

Cooper and Sam quickly reacted and followed Blaine in his battle, and soon the three of them were killing machines, moving graciously between the walkers and needing only one attempt to finish them off most of the time. After all, they were all very skilled in fighting because they had needed to do it before. But never before they had had so many rivals.

No matter how many he killed, as soon as Blaine recovered his position there were what seemed to be a thousand more walkers about to bite him. He couldn’t even see the end of it, so absorbed into the mass of rotten flesh he was. He could hardly get a glimpse of his boyfriend a couple of feet from him, and he was grateful at the little grunt Cooper let out every time he killed one of those monsters because he couldn’t even see him and it was the only way for him to know he was still alive.

It was agonizing. The repulsive odor of the walking corpses and the amount of them circling him and leaving him practically with no air was starting to asphyxiate him and he felt he was going to pass out. Of course the fact he was still weak from his shot wound –which was becoming a raging pain with all the movement–, that he had a concussion and that he had hardly gotten any rest since Sam was kidnapped were starting to take their toll on him, and he could feel himself getting slower and slower with each passing second.

He continued fighting, which he knew he was going to do until his last breath –because whatever happened, he was surely not going to surrender–. He couldn’t even tell one walker from another: he just threw his knives over and over again on every one of those blurry images that appeared in front of him. Getting more and more desperate, his heart aching with the fact he didn’t even know if the two people he loved the most in the world were still alive, he started shouting with each effort, using both his knives and hands to get rid of the monsters around him. But he was not infallible, and unfortunately the time came when he missed one of his targets.

His knife didn’t make contact with the skull directly in front of him, and the impulse he had taken –and which hadn’t met any resistance– made him lose his balance a bit in a way that it only took him a little push from behind to fall on his knees. That didn’t mean he was ready to give up, and he fought with all that was left in him to rise to his feet again so as not to be so vulnerable. But the pressure of so many walkers around him didn’t give him the space enough to get up, and from his position he couldn’t reach their brains in any way. Almost unable to breathe, Blaine got his knife ready when he saw the walker in front of him bend over to bite him and took the chance to embed it on its brains. But he hadn’t even gotten his weapon out of its skull when two other walkers did the same and Blaine felt their odor invade his nostrils, almost making him retch. He knew he was doomed, as there was no way he could kill them in time to protect himself, especially considering that two or three more would replace them immediately even if he could kill them, so he closed his eyes in fear. But when some hands grabbed his arms and pulled him upright, his survival instinct revived again and he struggled to disentangle from their grip. And only when the walker closer to him was killed and all its blood fell on his face, Blaine dared to open his eyes.

“Blaine, it’s me!” Sam practically yelled in his ears, begging for his boyfriend to let himself be helped.

“Sam?” Blaine asked in confusion, immediately stopping his struggle at the safety his boyfriend’s voice always provided and letting himself be pulled until he was on his feet again.

“There is no way we can fight them all” Cooper lamented at his other side –he obviously had been the one to kill the walkers around him–, looking desperately all around him as if trying to find a solution, anywhere they could hide until the others found them.

Unfortunately they were completely surrounded by those monsters, and there was no way they could go past them to reach the nearest houses, and even then they didn’t know if they would be open or they were safe, and they surely didn’t have the time to investigate. All in all, it seemed as if the only thing they could do was to hide into the tool hut at their backs and wait for the others to find them and get them out of there. It was not an ideal solution by any means but… it was the only one they had.

“Get inside the hut, now!” Cooper ordered as he pushed both the boys to get them moving and then he followed them inside.

Cooper strongly closed the door behind him and between him and Sam they moved the only piece of furniture in the hut against it, a table that they hoped the walkers would not be able to move even if it wasn’t nearly as heavy as they would have liked by any means.

“Let’s hope the others find us before they tear the hut down” Cooper said.

But the growing noise Blaine could hear all along the flimsy hut as the walkers surrounded it made him wonder if his brother wasn’t being too optimistic and getting inside that place had been a mistake.

**********

Puck’s heart stopped a beat as he saw Kitty fall, but before he ran to her he searched with his eyes the houses in front of them from where he thought the shot might have come to make sure no one else ended up with a bullet in them. His quick eyes detected some movement on the roof of one of the houses, and he quickly aimed, before that person had the chance to run or hide, and shot without contemplations. And he was sure he had succeeded when a man shouted and fell from said roof some yards from then.

It was then when Puck dared to run to the fallen girl, even if he knew there was a very real risk that there would be more shooters keeping an eye on them. He kneeled at her side and almost screamed at the blood he could easily see falling on her face. But one closer look at the wound on her forehead, and he was relieved to see it wasn’t a whole but a deep scratch, which probably meant that the bullet had just grazed her –and not entered his head– and she was unconscious only because of the blow. He drove a couple of fingers to her neck, just to be completely sure she was alive, and he was glad to hear her steady heartbeat.

He hadn’t realized he had let his own guard down until he felt a hand on his shoulder and a very familiar hissing sound told him it didn’t belong to any of his friends. He jumped to his feet and turned around in a shift movement and killed the walker before it was a real threat. But only when he raised his gaze after that, he was able to see the dozens of walkers that were approaching from afar, obviously attracted by all the noise the previous shooting had done. And which they would never be able to fight.

“Everyone just run inside!” he yelled at the top of his lungs while he took Kitty’s still unconscious body in his arms, getting everyone’s attention immediately. “We need to barricade this entrance somehow!”

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked, immediately noticed the deep distress in his friend’s voice, but his face changed dramatically as he turned towards the direction Puck was pointing and he saw what seemed to be a whole army of those damn bitters. “Forget about these walkers and do what Puck says!” Mike yelled too until everyone got into action.

“We can’t stay here, we need to help Blaine and the others!” Sebastian immediately opposed: that’s why there were there after all, right?”

“Seb, we have to concentrate on this first” Trent tried to reason with him, even if he felt practically the same way.

“You saw how many walkers entered before, they must be trapped somewhere in there!” Sebastian protested, not even wanting to think the state they could be in. “Blaine, Cooper and Sam need us!”

“If you want to help them we’ve got to make sure no more walkers get in!” Trent yelled, grabbing Sebastian’s lapels to make more of an impression. “Otherwise they won’t be able to make it for sure, and neither will we! Plus we can’t leave Kitty like that, can we?”

“No, but I could…” Sebastian tried to offer himself, but of course his friend didn’t even want to hear it.

“If you go on your own you’re dead” Trent insisted, his eyes getting glassy with tears of fear that his friend wouldn’t listen to him and would go anyway. “If the three of them can’t fight those monsters, what makes you think you will be able on your own?”

“They could be dying as we speak” Sebastian insisted with half a sob.

“I know. But we could also be saving their lives this way” Trent said, more softly, as he put his arms around Sebastian for a second for a comforting embrace. “Please, Sebastian, help us barricade the entrance and keep those walkers outside. Then I promise I’ll go with you to find them even if no one else comes”

“Alright” Sebastian let himself be convinced, knowing that Trent’s arguments made complete sense, before letting go of him and starting working like a madman.

**********

The three men remained in silence inside the hut, trying to ignore all the noise coming from outside as the walkers surrounded the place, obviously attracted by their presence. The tension was so palpable that they couldn’t even utter a word, and only their heavy breathings could be heard above that odious hissing they knew so well.

Blaine jumped from his skin at the first blow against the wall, which indicated that those biters where starting to hit it to find their way in, and was only momentarily relieved when Sam rested a warm hand on his shoulder. But even that was not enough to calm his nerves when another blow sounded on the other side of the hut.

“We are totally surrounded by them” Blaine whispered, almost afraid that it would become true if he said it louder, and Sam’s squeeze on his shoulder felt more afraid than comforting this time.

“Let’s just hope this damned hut will stand until the others find us” Cooper answered before jumping in fright when two other blows resounded in different walls of the little house.

And before any of them could say anything else, the silence of the place was broken with what sounded like thousands of hits and knocks in every corner of the hut, so strong and frequent that they were making the walls tremble and their hearts shrink with fear. There was no way they were going to make it out of there alive. It just didn’t seem possible.

**********

Everyone ran inside what was left of the wall and obeyed, grabbing everything they could think of to close the big opening that had been made. Of course it was no easy deal, as they had to keep fighting the few walkers still around and there wasn’t a lot of stuff they could use for a barricade. Puck left Kitty on the ground and motioned for Sugar to keep her safe and protect her from the walkers, knowing he was stronger and quicker than the girl and would be more useful.

The wooden planks and trunks they had used for the wall might be useful, but not enough, considering half of them had been broken during the fall. Besides, if it hadn’t been enough to stop the walkers before, it surely wouldn’t be enough now. They knew that whatever they did wouldn’t be a permanent solution, but they just hoped it would give them enough time to take care of Kitty and find Blaine, Cooper and, hopefully, Sam too.

Puck could have cried with excitement when he saw a small truck a few yards from them that would go great to block part of the entrance. Of course he didn’t have the keys to it, but he was sure he would still be able to remember how to hot-wire a vehicle –and he had never been gladder of the wildest part of him than he was at that moment–.

“Jake!” he yelled at his brother. “Come with me, we need to get this trunk over here”

Jake didn’t lose a second in obeying and, with a last glance towards Marley to make sure she was alright, he ran after Puck, getting his gun out of his waistband just in case he needed it. None of them was particularly fast, but that time they ran like the devil, knowing that time was against them and there were quite a few people depending on them.

Only twice they needed to fight a couple of stray walkers, as all the rest where either at the entrance –most of them dead by now– or gone in the same direction they knew Blaine and Cooper had left. Puck took a second to think about their friends, hating the fact that there was nothing he could do for them at the moment apart from stopping more walkers going their way, and for that getting that truck was absolutely essential.

“Puck, be careful!” Jake’s terrified scream got him out of his reverie, and he only had time to see his brother crouching down before a shot landed only inches from him.

Puck yelled in anger, even if he hadn’t been hurt, and turned to see who the hell was shooting at him. In front of him there was that damned man who had thrown their prisoner to the walkers from the top of the now fallen entrance. He had a bit of blood in his face and a big stain in his side but he seemed to have survived the fall and escaped the walkers somehow. And on top of everything, he was just standing in front of them, pointing his gun at them.

“Throw your gun to the floor right now” Puck ordered him with the most threatening voice he could muster, but he didn’t seem to have a lot of effect because the man didn’t obey.

“Or what?” he asked with a smirk.

“Or we will kill you” Jake answered, but it was obvious he didn’t sound as convincing as his brother when he elicited a hearty laugh on the man.

“ _You_ are going to kill me?” the man repeated with a snort. “You who didn’t even try to aim during the shooting before?”

“That we didn’t try to kill you before does not mean we are not ready to do it now” Puck intervened. “Two against one. You better do as you’re told”

“Right, because you’re going to keep me alive if I give you my gun”

“Yes, if you help us find my friend” Puck answered, suddenly realizing that man probably knew about Sam, considering it had been him bringing the other prisoner.

“Oh, you came for the boy?” the man asked, and from the tone of his voice he seemed to be having a lot of fun.

“Yes”

“And if I help you, you will let me live”

“Yes”

The last thing the Puckerman brothers expected was for the man to break in a maniac laughter as he did. Was he crazy? Was he maybe too desperate to be thinking clearly?

“And how will you manage to keep me alive, you little bastards?” the man said as he lifted his sweater.

Jake felt a great need of vomiting at the awful vision in front of him: the side of that man had been torn apart and he could even see his insides through it. Yes, he had escaped from the walkers, but not before they had put a countdown on him. How he was still able to stand with such a wound was beyond him.

“Your friend is dead” the man lied, wanting to hurt these people that had destroyed everything in the worst possible way. “He was a tasty morsel for those biters. You should have seen them, they even licked their own lips with pleasure”

“You liar!” Puck yelled, his eyes filling with tears at the possibility that Sam had died such a horrible death.

The man laughed again at Puck’s agony, as hurting them was the only thing left for him before he died, and then he raised his gun again and pointed it at Jake. But Puck was not going to let that man hurt anyone else, much less his brother, and without a second thought he lifted his gun and shot at the man’s head, killing him in an instant.

Jake remained in silence, looking as the man fell in front of him and Puck broke down in sobs at the loss of one of his best friends.

“Puck…” he tried, resting a hand between his brother’s shoulder blades.

“Come on” Puck said as he instantly recovered and moved from his brother’s touch at the same time that he dried his tears. “Blaine and Cooper need our help more than ever”

Just the thought of sweet Blaine losing the love of his life like that almost made him break down in tears again, but he didn’t let himself fall into despair and continued until he was inside the truck. Fortunately for him, it was not difficult to get it working, and he hurried to take it to the entrance so they could barricade it.

**********

Blaine, Sam and Cooper could hardly breathe as they waited, hoping for a miracle. There was no way they could go out now because the deafening hits all around the hurt clearly indicated they were completely surrounded by walkers. The only hope they had was for the others to find them in time, but the shots they kept hearing in the distance from time to time told them they were still fighting in the entrance.

The sound of glass breaking made them turn around and they were appalled to see the walkers had broken one of the windows with their insistence. It was too small for them to go through –nor did they had the ability to climb to do it–, but a couple of hands made their way in, trying to grab the people inside, which only made it all the more terrifying.

“Stand back, boys” Cooper said, trying to remain calm as he gently pushed them away from the window, afraid they would be grabbed at the smallest distraction.

The sound of breaking wood, though, immediately caught their attention and they screamed when they saw a small hole opening in one of the corners, through which they could see all the walkers fighting to enter. And even with everything the three of them had gone through since hell broke loose, never before had they felt as close to death as they did in that moment.

**********

Puck, with Jake at his side, drove the truck as well as he could –considering he had never driven anything like that before– towards the entrance.

“We did it!” Puck yelled through his open window.

“Great!” Mike exclaimed, daring to smile for the first time since everything started. “Try and park it right there, next to those wood planks we’ve already piled”

Puck immediately obeyed –not being able to help a little smile when he consciously ran over a walker behind the vehicle– and he maneuvered the truck to the place Mike had pointed. But he was not as habile with it as he would have liked, and he ended up hitting the planks Mike had mentioned and sending them to the floor –and on Santana.

The girl barely had time to scream before the fragile wall they had been building fell on her and almost completely buried her. But Brittany, who had seen the whole incident, screamed for her and ran to push the wood from her, even with the broken arm she had been dealing with since the attack at McKinley.

“Santana!” she screamed as she diligently worked. “Santana, can you hear me?”

“Yes” Santana rushed to answer even if her voice sounded weak under all the debris. “I’m alright, Britt, don’t worry”

“I’m so sorry!” Puck said while getting out of the truck and hurrying to help them. “I didn’t think driving that thing was so difficult, I’m so sorry”

“Don’t worry about that and help me get her out of here” Brittany said in an understanding tone.

With the Puckerman brothers’ help it was only a moment before they unburied the girl, and even if Santana’s life didn’t seem to be at risk, it was clear she was quite battered by the way she doubled over herself when they got her on her feet –she probably had some broken ribs– and she was going to be their second injured companion.

“I don’t think we can do better than this” Mike announced as he finished giving the last touches at one of the ends of the whole in the wall. “Fortunately the truck blocks most of the way, and I think the wood will do for a while”

“So now let’s…” Sebastian started suggesting, but before he could finish he was interrupted by a shot coming from a roof again.

Fortunately it didn’t it anyone, but it was immediately followed by another one, and then another that got everybody into action.

“The survivors have reunited!” Marley shouted, quickly understanding what was happening. “We need to take cover!”

“To the house!” Trent suggested, pointing at the house closer to them and from which they hadn’t heard any shot coming.

Jake took the still unconscious Kitty in his arms and Puck and Brittany helped Santana as everyone ran to the house. Both Trent and Sugar heard bullets passing right next to their ears, so they knew those people weren’t joking even if they were not great shooters –the weak fort they had created just showed how little they knew about survival–.

“I’ll go first and see if it’s safe to go in” Mike offered once they were in the porch, from which the shooters couldn’t see them unless they came out of their hiding places.

The rest of them also entered the house behind him and only when he had quickly scanned the whole house and made sure there was no one there, the others rushed to close the door as best as they could, not daring yet to seal it in case Blaine and Cooper made their way back to them.

“There is nothing we can do until those people make the first move, if we go out there they will kill us in an instant” Puck announced as he watched Unique find some supplies to take care of the wound on Kitty’s forehead.

“But Blaine, Cooper and Sam…” Sebastian tried to object, but Puck interrupted him.

“Sam is dead” Puck announced with a grave voice, lowering his gaze so he wouldn’t have to see the pain in everybody’s eyes at the new bit of information.

“Why do you say that?” Brittany asked, her eyes already filling with tears.

“Because the man who made that poor woman jump from the entrance told us so”

“And you’re going to believe it just like that?” Sebastian intervened, not even wanting to think about the possibility that it could be true.

“Why would he lie to us?” Puck asked, trying to be patient because he knew how difficult it was to accept something like that.

“To hurt us!”

“Sebastian, I know you don’t want to believe it but…”

“You’re right, I’m not going to believe it” Sebastian retorted, not even giving him the chance to try and convince him. “And even if was true, Blaine and Cooper are still out there”

“I know” Puck answered with a frustrated sigh, as there was nothing he hated more than to leave one of them behind. “But there is nothing we can do for them while those shooters are out there. We won’t be of much use to them if we get ourselves killed, you know”

“Damn it, I know” Sebastian was forced to admit after a whole minute.

But the anxiety in him didn’t let him rest, and he walked to the window and didn’t move from it, hoping to get a glimpse of the Anderson brothers if they were able to escape.

**********

The situation in the hut was getting more and more desperate by the minute. The other window had been broken too and small holes were opening all around the walls as the walkers pressed and pounded on the walls. Even the table that was blocking the door had moved a few inches with the movement. None of them thought the hut was going to last much longer, but they didn’t dare to say it so as not to make the others lose hope.

“Fuck!” Blaine yelled as something touched his back, and just one look behind him confirmed his worst suspicions: one of the walkers had already been able to get its arm through the planks. And it was just a matter of time until more of them did.

His heart in his throat, Cooper grabbed his brother’s arm and pulled him a step forward to get him away from those hands threatening to grab him, although he could see how useless it was, as there were other hands wanting to reach them in the opposite wall through the broken windows.

“We’re going to die in here” Sam whispered in the end, almost to himself, but Blaine heard him and hurried to put his arms around him in an embrace meant both to give and take comfort from the person he loved, as they both broke down in tears of desperation.

Cooper’s heart ached a bit more with each knock and pounding resounding on the walls of that damned hut, knowing it was just a matter of time until the first walker managed to enter and opened the way for all the rest. And damn it, it was his fault: he had been the one to suggest they should wait there for the others to find them. But of course he had never thought the hut would be so fragile, nor that the others would fail to find them in time. And now it was too late.

What pained him the most was how he was going to have to watch his brother being devoured alive by those monsters. He wasn’t so afraid for himself, but he couldn’t stand the thought of his little brother’s life ending like that. Because Blaine had always been the most important person in his life, he had always loved him more than life itself, and thinking he was going to suffer and die like that was more than he could stand, and just that thought was enough to send rivulets of tears down his cheeks.

Unless… not all of them needed to die, right? Maybe if one of them served as a distraction for the walkers… maybe that way the other two could make an escape. The people who had kidnapped Sam were horrible, but he had to admit their idea was good: if one of them sacrificed himself and went outside, the walkers would immediately jump on him and maybe the others would find the chance to fly. He didn’t know if it could work, but it was surely worth the try.

Cooper looked at the two younger boys, deeply encased in each other’s arms as they sobbed together, cursing their fate that they were going to die precisely now that they had found each other. Cooper remembered the determination in Blaine’s eyes when he had woken up after the blow he had received and had discovered Sam wasn’t there; or the panic in him when that woman had been thrown out to the walkers and he feared Sam might have had the same fate. He remembered how Sam had raised a gun on him the first time they met when he thought he was a threat to Blaine, or how he had entered in a raging river without any protection just to make sure Blaine would make it to the other side.

How much they were ready to risk for each other was an obvious proof of how much they loved each other, but it wasn’t just that. There were so many little things between them that made that hell of a life worth it… How they smiled at each other, the way they entwined their fingers together whenever they held hands, the constant little kisses to cheeks, foreheads and temples between them, their usual words of encouragement and love. Cooper also remembered how Sam had made all of them trick Blaine at the farm so he would willingly go to sleep because he knew him so deeply that he knew it was the only way. Because he loved him that much.

There was no way Cooper was going to deprave his brother of that. Blaine had willingly stayed in that damned hospital, scared and alone, for two weeks just to protect Sam, because he simply couldn’t conceive his life without him. And even if Cooper knew his brother also loved him to no end and was going to suffer a lot with his loss, he’d learn to live without him, if he had Sam at his side to take care of him. As long as Sam made it, Blaine would be okay.

It wasn’t such a sacrifice, he thought, as he was going to die anyway: the only difference was that he may give his brother a chance. So it wasn’t such a difficult decision in the end: he would do anything in his power to keep his brother safe.

Of course he couldn’t just explain his plan to them: Blaine had made it perfectly clear that he didn’t intent to leave without him, so he would manage a way to stop him or to convince him not to try it. And Cooper had never been more positive about what he needed to do than he did at the moment.

He met Sam’s gaze above Blaine’s head and looked intently at him for a second before nodding at him. And even if Sam wouldn’t probably understand what he was asking him to, at least he would know he was asking him to do whatever it took to save Blaine’s life.

“Blaine” Cooper said, immediately getting his brother’s attention.

Blaine broke the embrace with Sam to turn to his brother, his eyes full of tears and his face the perfect mask of desolation. Cooper wanted nothing more than to take him into his arms and embrace him until he could make it all better, like he did when Blaine was little and he thought Cooper could fix anything. But he couldn’t do it this time.

“I love you, little brother” Cooper said, his voice shaking with emotion before moving to kiss Blaine’s forehead. “More than you could ever imagine. Please, never forget it”

“Coop, what…?” Blaine tried to ask, confused at the sudden solemnity in Cooper’s stance. But Cooper never let him finish the question.

Without any kind of warning, Cooper moved the table holding the door just enough for him to be able to open the door and ran outside under the other boys’ shocked eye.

“Cooper!” Blaine yelled at the top of his lungs and made to follow his brother, but Sam quickly understood what the older man had asked of him and grabbed Blaine strongly around his middle to stop him, even if he couldn’t stop his desperate shouting. “Cooper!”

“Blaine, no” Sam said, his voice breaking at the sacrifice Cooper had just done for them –and the effects it was going to have on his little brother.

Cooper tried to ignore his brother’s heartbreaking screams as he tried to put some distance between them –the furthest he could reach, all the more space he could give the boys to run when the walkers followed him–, but the mass of biters was so big that he couldn’t make it more than a few yards before they blocked their way and the first hands starting grabbing him all around his body.

Even if he had never been a believer, he prayed that it would go quickly and he wouldn’t feel too much pain. And when he felt the first bite on his shoulder, he hissed but promised himself he wasn’t going to scream, not while his brother could still hear him. That was going to be his last gift to him, whatever it took. And he kept his promise until his last breath.

“Blaine, come on, we need to get out of here” Sam insisted as he tried to move Blaine to escape from the hut.

But Blaine was totally beyond himself. He knew Sam wanted to get him away from there, when the only thing he wanted was to get to his brother, so he grabbed on the table and didn’t let himself be moved as he kept shouting for Cooper, his mind refusing to register how he was already gone and there was nothing he could do for him.

“Blaine, damn it, let go! We need to get out of here now!” Sam angrily ordered him in desperation.

“He’s my brother, Sam!” Blaine protested even if he could hardly speak between the sobs ripping through his chest.

“I know” Sam answered in an understanding voice, hoping that trying to convince him would be more useful than using force in a moment like that. “I know, love, but he sacrificed himself for us, don’t make him do it in vain”

“No!” Blaine shouted in an agonizing scream that only helped to break Sam’s heart even further. “Coop!”

“Blaine, please, come on” Sam begged as he kept pulling on his boyfriend’s arm, but he could see Blaine was not himself at the moment, that he had entered in a hysterics trance so it was not going to be possible to reason with him.

For once ignoring Blaine’s feelings, even if it broke his heart to do it even if he knew it was needed to save his life, Sam opted for more drastic measures and stopped insisting to roughly grab Blaine’s hands to separate them from the table and then he immobilized his arms with a strong embrace from behind, taking advantage of his superior strength and Blaine’s weakness.

“No!” Blaine screamed as he fought and squirmed against Sam’s arms that were restraining, even if the strength of their grip was not diminishing one bit. “Let go of me!”

“I’m sorry, Blaine, I hope you can forgive me for this someday” Sam apologized as he reinforced his grip on the smaller guy, terrified that the latter would end up succeeding in his attempts of escaping, while tears fell unnoticed from his cheeks at the pain he knew he was inflicting on him, even if it was for his own good.

Sam moved to the same door Cooper had used only a few seconds ago and made sure none of the walkers were too close to be a problem, now that they were distracted with… he couldn’t even say it. But of course getting closer to where his brother had disappeared under the walkers only contributed to shake Blaine’s state even further, and he fought more strongly to extricate from Sam’s grip, only thinking about getting to his brother and getting him away from those monsters.

“Cooper!” Blaine shouted again with all his forces.

“Blaine, please” Sam begged as he covered Blaine’s mouth with his hand so strongly that he was sure he had to be hurting him, but he couldn’t risk for him to keep making so much noise if they didn’t want to attract the walkers to them again. “We have to go”

Sam could feel his chest aching with grief when Blaine’s screaming turned into desperate sobbing at the impossibility to open his mouth, but he knew their life depended solely on him now and he was not going to waste the chance Cooper had given them. So with a last glance at the gruesome spectacle and a silent prayer that Blaine would not make it more difficult, he finally got out of the hut and started running in the opposite direction, pulling at Blaine and slightly lifting him from the floor against his will so as to make the escape easier. After all, he knew he only had a few seconds until the walkers who were not occupied realized about their presence and started following them.

It was not easy to run with Blaine still fighting every step of the way, even if for the life of him, Sam couldn’t blame him. His heart broke as he wondered how Blaine was going to be able to get over something like that, to learn to live without that brother who had always been his hero. He knew Blaine was the strongest person he had ever known, but that was too much, even for him.

But no, it wasn’t. It was going to be hard, but they were going to make it. Together. Sam was going to make sure of that, whatever it took.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a shot immediately followed by a deep and unexpected pain in his leg that suddenly made him lose all strength in it and sent him and Blaine to the floor, where they stayed stunned for a second.

Blaine was the first to react and he quickly kneeled up and crawled the small distance separating him from his boyfriend, his eyes widening impossibly with panic at the blood stain growing on the side of his knee.

“Sam!” Blaine practically yelled as the vision of his boyfriend writhing in pain on the floor seemed to efficiently get him out of his stupor.

“I’m okay” Sam immediately tried to reassure him, silently glad that Blaine seemed to have gone back into his senses with the fear of seeing him wounded –and that was Blaine, wasn’t it? If there was something that was going to make him react, was the vision of Sam injured and the need to keep him safe.

“We’ve got to get out of here” Blaine desperately answered through his tears as he put Sam’s arm around his own shoulders and helped him stand up through a hand to his waist, letting him rest as much weight as he needed to walk.

But they hadn’t taken more than two steps when a rain of bullets started falling on them from a nearby roof.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! As usual lately, sorry for the delay :( 
> 
> As some of you might know, due to some personal issues I haven't been able to write or been around much lately, but hey, at least I finally put something together! I did it! So allow me to be a little bit proud of myself for once, yay!
> 
> I didn't mean to finish the chapter here but, as it usually happens, it was getting too long so I had to divide the action into two different chapters. Hope you like it and you haven't completely lost all interest in the story after so much time! Thank you for your support and your patience!

“What the hell is that?” Sebastian practically yelled as he desperately tried to get a glimpse of the action through the window he was glued to when an unexpected burst of bullets could clearly be heard.

“These are more shots” Puck answered, not sure he was understanding the question –they had been firing and hearing shots for a long while after all, right?– even if he could feel there had to be something wrong to get Sebastian so agitated again.

“But what are they shooting so insistently at all of a sudden?” Sebastian insisted, half excited, half terrified. “The boys must be near!”

The others immediately understood Sebastian’s reasoning, knowing he was probably right and they weren’t too surprised when the tall boy got his weapon out of his pants and got ready to go outside.

“It’s too dangerous to go outside, some of us are injured!” Unique tried to warn him, but Sebastian didn’t have the time –or the energy– to try and convince them, so he just made sure there wasn’t any walker near the door and ran outside, willing to do anything to help his friends.

“Stay here and take care of them!” he yelled at his back, and he thought he was going to cry with relief when he noticed Trent and Mike following him.

**********

“Damn it” Blaine complained under his breath as the bullets started ricocheting on the ground –and thank God those people were so unprepared to fight and seemed to be mostly bad shooters– all around them.

And even if those bastards weren’t good shooters, he couldn’t risk staying there because they could get lucky anytime –they already had on Sam’s knee just a second ago, after all–, so he reinforced his grip on Sam’s waist and pulled him as fast as he could under the porch of the nearest house.

Sam tried not to protest at the movement because he knew Blaine was only trying to save their lives, but couldn’t help a wince when his boyfriend helped him to sit down on the porch and perch against the wall, hoping they would be impossible to be seen from the roofs and praying none of the shooters decided to come down and face them right then.

“Let me see it” Blaine said as he kneeled at Sam’s side and lifted the leg of his pants to check the wound that was bleeding so profusely.

“It’s ok” Sam protested, trying to get Blaine’s hands away from him because they didn’t have time for that, but one look at his angry face and Sam knew he was not going to let it go.

“Stop it!” Blaine furiously reprimanded him as he moved Sam’s hands out of his way with what could almost be considered a slap. “I need to make sure you’re alright!”

Sam didn’t even try to move again as Blaine fumbled with his pants, shocked as he was at Blaine’s anger, so difficult to elicit in different circumstances. But he shouldn’t be that surprised: Blaine was a mess, he had just gotten out of a shock after losing his beloved brother in the worst possible way, of course he was going to be unable to control his emotions. Especially if Sam was injured and still in danger and Blaine was terrified to lose him too. It was more than he could deal with at the moment, and Sam making it more difficult wasn’t helping any.

“Hey” Sam said in the most understanding voice he could muster as he cupped Blaine’s cheek to make him raise his face, taking the opportunity to dry some of the tears there, already forgotten, with his thumbs in a gentle motion. “I’ll be alright”

Blaine nodded, not too convinced, before his eyes turned again to the wound on the side of Sam’s leg and inspected it more closely.

“It looks like the bullet just grazed you” Blaine explained before he unceremoniously ripped a piece of his undershirt and used it to press on the wound. “But it might have nicked some small vein or something because it won’t stop bleeding”

Sam was about to tell him not to worry again when a shot sounded so much closer than before and impacted on the railing just behind Blaine, just mere inches from his head. His heart about to burst with the fright, Sam took Blaine’s hand and pulled him strongly towards him until the latter was sitting against the wall at his side, efficiently getting him out of the eye of the shooter in the roof of the next house and relatively more secure. Because Blaine might be terrified to lose him, but it also worked the other way around and Sam was not going to allow him to risk his life for him.

“Don’t move” Sam begged, keeping an arm in front of Blaine’s chest to act as a barrier when the latter tried to stand up again.

“We can’t stay here, they know we are cornered here and they can come to get us!” Blaine desperately answered.

“Blaine, that bullet passed by mere inches of your head! If you move, you’re dead too!” Sam yelled back at him, not realizing what he was saying until the words had made it out of his mouth.

But of course Blaine realized in an instant and froze. He remained stunned, feeling as if a giant fist was squeezing his heart, so badly it was hurting. He still hadn’t had the time to process he had really lost his brother, and Sam putting it into words just made it more real. His brother was really dead, and nothing they did was ever going to change that.

“I’m sorry, babe” Sam immediately apologized as he held Blaine close to him and glued his lips to the latter’s forehead in an undying kiss to try and make him react, hating himself for the unfortunate choice of words and the pain they had elicited. “I’m so sorry. Forgive me, please”

Blaine closed his eyes real tight for a second at his boyfriend’s words, trying to stop a breakdown he knew they couldn’t afford at the moment, not while they were still in danger. Not while Sam was still in danger. And Blaine wasn’t going to lose him too.

“I’m going to try and fight them” Blaine whispered because he wasn’t able to find his voice to speak any louder. “We can’t wait here, if the shooters don’t find us the walkers will”

“No!” Sam practically yelled as he reinforced his grip on the smaller boy, both for comfort and to keep him from flying when he knew he couldn’t follow him. “We don’t know how many shooters there are!”

“I’ll be back for you” Blaine promised as he tried to stand up, but the grip Sam was keeping on him made it difficult to even move.

“Don’t do this to me, babe, come on” Sam begged as he urgently cupped Blaine’s neck and kissed him with love and desperation, needing for Blaine to know how much he understood his pain and his need to do something, but how he couldn’t risk letting him go when he positively knew it was highly probable he would never come back. “Stay with me, please”

“I can’t lose you too, Sam” Blaine answered with a heartbreaking sob that made Sam’s grip lose its intensity for just a second, but it was enough for Blaine to take advantage of it and free himself completely to stand on his feet.

“Blaine, no!” Sam yelled at his retreating back as he unsuccessfully try to stand, his eyes filling with tears at the possibility that he was seeing him for the last time, but Blaine ignored his plead –otherwise he would never be able to leave.

“Blaine!” a different voice caught his attention, and he was forced to turn around to see where it came from –and he was relieved to see his good friend Sebastian, along with Trent and Mike, standing in the porch of another house, just at the other side of the street.

The small distance between them now that Blaine had turned around allowed Sam to take Blaine’s hand in his to stop him if he decided he was going to go in search of the shooters in spite of the very opportune apparition of their friends, even if he hadn’t done a movement to indicate so.

“They’re going to help us!” Sam said excitedly as he pulled of Blaine’s arm to bring him closer to him again after the tension of almost having to see him go. “Babe, they came for us”

“Boys?” Sebastian yelled in a questioning voice, failing to understand what were they doing there instead of trying to find them and why Sam was sitting down and keeping such a strong grip in Blaine’s hand –and where the hell was Cooper?

“Seb, we can’t move, they’re shooting at us from the roofs!” Blaine explained in a loud voice to be heard, immediately understanding his friend’s confusion.

“Make a run here, we’ll cover you!” Mike suggested, already getting his gun ready and pointing it up towards where Blaine had said the shooters were.

“Sam is injured, he got shot on the knee, he can’t run!” Blaine answered, even if Sam knew he wouldn’t have given it a second thought if he had been the one to get injured –but of course he was going to worry about him, especially after what had just happened with his brother.

Sebastian sighed with frustration, but he didn’t stop to wallow in their misery before he made the decision: he would run and cross the street to them while Trent and Mike covered him and then he would help Blaine bring Sam to their hiding place. He knew any of them would do that for him, so there really wasn’t anything to decide.

“Cover me!” he yelled just before he started running, and Mike and Trent barely had time to react before he was out of cover and in the middle of the street, becoming a very easy target for the shooters of the roofs.

But they reacted and started shooting without a stop, not giving the snipers the chance to reciprocate until Sebastian was safe at the other end of the street.

“Come on, boys” Sebastian said as soon as he arrived to the same porch they were in and he was about to ask about Cooper’s whereabouts when one look at Blaine’s face stopped him.

Or more accurately, the absolute desolation inside his eyes, the palpable pain emanating from those dull and reddened orbs that seemed to have been emptied of any drop of happiness. And even if he wasn’t crying at the moment, there were so many still fresh paths of tears in his cheeks and even in his clothes that Sebastian knew something terrible had happened. And if Cooper wasn’t there with them…

“Blaine…” Sebastian tried to said, his own voice struggling with the knot of tears forming in his throat as his hands moved to touch the desolated boy in front of him, trying to offer some comfort he knew he couldn’t offer, but Blaine moved just enough to avoid it and crouched down to help Sam, all the way evading Sebastian’s pitiful gaze.

“Help me with him, please” Blaine implored for him to let it go, not feeling strong enough to even hear Cooper’s name without breaking down –which was absolutely the last thing they needed right now.

Sebastian seemed to understand the plea and imitated his friend’s moves, grabbing Sam’s other arm and pulling of it until he was standing up. Then he threw it around his shoulders, so he could comfortably hold part of his weight that way, and looked at Blaine in a silent way of asking if he was ready, to which Blaine confidently nodded.

“We’re ready!” Sebastian announced to the other two friends waiting at the other side of the street, and he only waited until he could hear the first shot before he nodded back at Blaine and they both started running, strongly holding Sam in between them, who did as much as he could to help.

The fact that his injury was in the knee prevented Sam from bending it in order to move correctly, but at least he knew it was not extremely serious when he discovered he could lean into it more than he had originally thought. And that meant not being such a burden to the others, especially to Blaine, he thought as he reinforced the grip he was keeping around his shoulders more to comfort him than for his own support. Because they had found the others now, and the time for explanations and to face the crude reality was coming; and if there was something he could do to make it a little easier on him, however small the gesture was, Sam would gladly take it.

They were quicker than expected in making it to the other side of the street, but Trent and Mike didn’t stop shooting until the other three were way ahead of them. Fortunately they didn’t have to come out in the open anymore until the house they were using for shelter, so they didn’t stop –as Sebastian knew that Blaine would want to take care of Sam’s injury as soon as possible– and before they knew it, the tallest boy was strongly knocking on a door.

“Guys, it’s us, let us in!” Sebastian hissed as loudly as he dared without really yelling, hoping not to attract too much attention towards the place where they were supposed to be safe for a while –both from the other people and from the walkers wandering around–, at least until they had taken care of the injured.

It was Puck who opened the door for them, and the surprise of seeing Blaine and especially Sam there was almost comical. Of course he immediately realized Sam was hurt if they were helping him walk, so he moved out of the way and allowed them in, not closing it until Trent and Mike had also made their way inside.

“Sam!” Brittany exclaimed, and Sebastian hardly had the time to let go of Sam before he was replaced by the emotional girl jumping to embrace the injured boy. “You’re alive!”

“I am” Sam gratefully answered as he also put his arm around the girl, even if his other arm remained around his boyfriend, not feeling able to let go of him now that the questions were about to start.

“They told us you were dead” Puck explained in a relieved voice as he waited for his turn to embrace their recovered friend.

“Well, they lied” Sam answered with a sad smile as he reciprocated his old friend’s hug.

“Where’s Cooper?” the dreaded question finally came, and it was from Marley’s mouth even if Sam could see everyone was expectant at the answer.

An answer that never came. Blaine’s face just sank down even lower, completely incapable to find his voice or the courage to meet anyone’s gaze and the pity he knew he was going to find there, and Sam didn’t know how to put what had happened into words without hurting his boyfriend even further. In the end, the only thing Sam could do was to shake his head in negation, hoping everyone would understand that Cooper hadn’t made it.

And they did. A few gasps and more than a few sobs could be heard amongst the youngsters, who started crying at yet another loss and in sympathy for their friend Blaine. Because they had been a direct witness of the close and special relationship between the two brothers, and they didn’t know how Blaine was going to overcome something like that.

“I’m so sorry, Killer” Sebastian said, his voice not more than a whisper as his hand tenderly rested on Blaine’s shoulder and squeezed it in reassurance, his heart breaking at the confirmation of what he had already guessed.

“Thanks” Blaine politely answered, his voice full of tears even if his eyes were dry for the moment, but he didn’t seem ready to talk because he immediately moved to other things. “Can you help me move Sam to that armchair?”

“Sure” Sebastian immediately complied and took his position as Sam’s support again, even if he was surprised that Blaine could still be functioning in a time like that instead of breaking down as everybody was expecting him to.

“Blaine…” Mike tried to catch his attention, wanting to help him as Blaine had done for him after Tina’s death, but Blaine just ignored him.

“What happened to Kitty?” Blaine asked as they passed the still unconscious girl, who was lying on the couch while Unique tended to her.

“A bullet grazed her, but it’s only a superficial wound” Unique answered while trying hard not to cry for the boy’s sake, because Blaine seemed to be so lost that she didn’t know how to address him.

“Blaine…” Mike tried again for him to stop him, but Blaine didn’t want to listen.

“Can I have some bandages and maybe some alcohol to take care of Sam’s wound? He got shot too and he’s still bleeding” Blaine continued his tirade, purposely ignoring Mike, but the latter was much more stubborn than that.

“Blaine, stop!” Mike practically yelled at him.

“No, I’m not going to stop!” Blaine screamed back in rage, finally turning around to face his friend. “Sam is wounded!”

“And we’re going to take care of him” Mike answered in a calmer voice, now that he had Blaine’s attention. So yeah, maybe it was not the right moment to get him to talk, but at least he could be at his side, right? “Just let me help you with Sam”

“He knows what he’s doing, babe” Sam intervened tentatively, almost as if he was afraid of Blaine’s reaction, but he knew he had done right when Blaine’s angry expression slowly softened.

“Ok” Blaine finally relented with a sigh. He didn’t like leaving Sam’s wellbeing in some hands that weren’t his, especially in a moment like that, but he knew if there was someone who had the slightest notion about how to take care of wounds, that was Mike.

Mike sighed with relief when Blaine accepted his presence, and he hurried to crouch in front of Sam as soon as Sebastian helped him into the chair and moved a bit backwards to give them some room. Blaine copied his actions and kneeled on the floor, and Mike thought he could cry at the tenderness with which he again lifted the leg of Sam’s pants so as not to cause him more pain.

Mike took a close and exhaustive look at the wound, knowing that keeping Sam healthy was the best way to help Blaine at the moment, and was immensely relieved when he realized it was not life-threatening by any means. Because if that happened, he was sure they wouldn’t just lose Sam: there was no way Blaine could survive after losing him too.

“It doesn’t seem too deep, and it’s already bleeding more slowly” Mike rushed to explain, not being able to keep a little smile out of his face at the fact he was able to deliver some good news. “Keep pressing here, see if you can get the bleeding to stop completely”

Blaine obeyed and let Mike’s hands lead his towards the exact point in which he was supposed to make pressure to stop Sam’s bleeding, and his heart broke when he elicited a wince on his boyfriend, even if Sam tried to hide his pain behind a calm expression on his face so as not to make things even harder on him.

“I’m sorry” Blaine whispered with guilt, though he didn’t diminish the pressure one bit.

“Hey, it’s ok” Sam immediately forgave him, even stretching his arm to reach the curls on Blaine’s forehead, in that familiar gesture that always comforted them both so much, even if he doubted it was going to be of much use this time. “I know you’re only trying to help and it wasn’t even that bad”

“He’s going to be alright” Mike intervened in a reassuring tone as he rested his hand between Blaine’s shoulder blades, wishing there was something he could do to make the younger boy feel better.

“See?” Sam said with a comforting smile as he raised a hand to tenderly cup Blaine’s cheek with it. “I told you it was nothing”

Blaine didn’t answer and only nodded his head to show Sam he had heard him, even if he was not going to be as optimistic as him yet.

“Now we only need to clean it with some alcohol if we can find any to make sure it doesn’t get infected and getting it bandaged as you said and he’ll be as good as new in no time” Mike suggested.

“I’ll try and find some alcohol around the house” Sebastian immediately offered, desperate to help his dear friend Blaine in any way he could, just before practically running upstairs in search of such a treasure.

“So…” Puck spoke after clearing his throat, not really knowing how to put into words what was going through his mind without hurting the vulnerable boy any further. “Can we maybe… retrieve… you know…”

“No” Blaine answered, immediately understanding what Puck was offering to do –to go in search of Cooper’s corpse so they could bury him, as they had done with everybody else–, but even if he was immensely grateful, he didn’t want to put more lives in danger. “It’s too dangerous”

“We will be careful, as when Mike and the others went to get you”

“No, it’s…” Blaine tried to explain, but his voice was shaking so much that he couldn’t continue until Sam’s hand closed around his bicep to offer his silent support. “It’s more dangerous. He… he will probably still be surrounded by all the walkers”

“Surrounded?” Jake repeated, not understanding what Blaine meant, and he continued asking before he knew what he was doing. “What happened to him?”

“Can we leave it for later?” Sam interrupted in what could be considered an angry tone at Jake’s lack of tact, especially when he noticed Blaine’s hands, still pressing on his wound, starting to shake involuntarily.

“Sure, of course” Jake immediately apologized when he understood how insensitive he was being. “I’m sorry”

“It’s ok, they got the right to know” Blaine intervened in what could be considered not more than a murmur, but it was enough for his boyfriend to hear it.

“Blaine, we don’t have to talk about it now” Sam answered, even raising Blaine’s face with a finger under his chin to make him look at him, and all the grief he could see in his eyes was enough to make Sam forget whatever he was going to say.

“I can do it” Blaine calmly responded –even if Sam knew how he was dying inside–, though he lowered his face again because he didn’t feel able to see the pity in everybody’s eyes when he told them what had happened. “We got Sam out of the basement where they were keeping him just before the walkers got in the fort. We got trapped by them so we tried to hide in a tool hut but there were too many of them and they were tearing the house down, so we were all going to die there”

“Blaine, I can…” Sam tried to offer himself to continue, not wanting for Blaine to have to say the words, but his boyfriend was much more stubborn than that –or maybe he just needed to let it out of his system, Sam didn’t honestly know.

“And then Cooper decided that his life wasn’t worth it as much as ours so he gave it up to save us. He…” Blaine’s voice finally broke and he had to breathe more deeply a couple of times to keep himself from collapsing right there and there, his heart too battered to even beat correctly.

“He sacrificed himself as a distraction to give us the chance to escape” Sam finished for him, before trying to put his arms around his boyfriend for an embrace, though Blaine didn’t let him because he was not willing to stop pressuring on Sam’s wound and risk for it to start bleeding again.

Silence fell upon the group because no one knew what to say. They weren’t really surprised that Cooper had given his life for them –after all, they had been direct witnesses to the love that man had for his little brother, considering he had crossed half the country just to find him–, but to know he had experienced such a terrible death…

And if that didn’t pain them enough, they only had to look at Blaine to have their hearts shattered to pieces. Because Cooper’s love for his brother had been totally reciprocated, and they didn’t know how Blaine was going to be able to overcome such a tragedy. They just hoped it wouldn’t completely destroy him.

“Cool story, huh?” Blaine sarcastically added when the silence became too unbearable as he furiously erased a tear from his cheek that he had been unable to stop. “Can someone please get me some fucking bandages now?”

Sam looked as his boyfriend moved his attention towards his wound and the pressure he was keeping on it, even if Sam suspected it wasn’t bleeding anymore but Blaine hadn’t even realized. And Sam’s heart had never felt as heavy as it did in the moment. And afraid. He was so scared about how Cooper’s death was going to affect his boyfriend… What if Cooper’s efforts hadn’t been enough? What if Blaine didn’t have the strength to keep fighting any longer? The world they lived in was as dangerous and screwed up as before –if not more, with each passing day–, and it would be impossible to survive in it unless you fought every step of the way. Like they had done until now. Like Sam wasn’t sure Blaine could keep doing from then on. And even if that thought scared the hell out of him… he couldn’t bring himself to even blame Blaine for it if that finally happened. Though of course he was going to do whatever it took to bring that fighter part of Blaine he loved so much back. Whatever it took. It was the least he could do for him.

“Blaine…” Sam tried in an understanding tone, even trying to lift Blaine’s face with his finger again, but this time the latter refused to obey.

“I’m alright, Sam” Blaine answered in a tone he knew wasn’t very convincing to neither one of them, but he refused to lift his gaze –too afraid of breaking down before they could afford it if he got to see all the pity he knew he would find in Sam’s eyes– and continued pretending he was working on Sam’s injury. “Where the hell is Sebastian with that alcohol?”

But Sam didn’t have time to reply before the most unimaginable sound broke the silence of the room: a knock on the front door.

Everybody remained rooted to their places as they exchanged shocked glances: who the hell was so politely knocking on their situation? They very well knew walkers didn’t do that –Sam and Blaine very well knew the kind of noises they made when they were trying to get somewhere, they had experienced it in their own skins only a few minutes ago–. So it had to be a person. But who would risk their lives like that, considering the amount of walkers wandering around the place? And what the hell would they want from them?

Everyone turned questioningly at Blaine, as he had always been kind of their leader –especially now that Cooper wasn’t there anymore– and they respected his opinions and decisions above everyone else’s. But Blaine was too overwhelmed and just as confused as everyone else, so he just shrugged his shoulders, in complete loss about what to do or think.

Fortunately Puck took pity on him and decided to take the matter into his own hands.

“Who is it?” Puck tentatively asked as he neared the door.

But he didn’t get any answer. Whoever was at the other side of the door didn’t seem to have any intention of speaking, and instead they just knocked on the door again, more insistently this time.

Marley ran to the window next to the door and took a peak outside, trying to learn more about their unexpected guess. It was not easy to see them from there, as whoever it was, they were right behind the door. But she caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a shoulder, a man’s shoulder, except that… it was covered by blood?

“It looks like a man but…” she tried to explain, but her boyfriend immediately noticed her hesitation.

“But what?” Jake encouraged her to continue.

“Whoever it is, it’s covered in blood and… flesh” she said with a voice full of disgust.

“It can’t be a walker” Puck contradicted her, understanding the girl’s confusion. “It can’t possibly be a walker knocking on our door”

“I don’t know if it’s a walker, I’m just telling you what I saw” Marley answered.

Puck sighed, knowing the girl was neither lying nor making a mistake, and got his gun ready in front of his face before moving to open the door.

“Everybody get alert” he motioned for the others to get their weapons ready, and Unique didn’t even protest when Blaine stood up and walked to her to take the gun she had left next to Kitty while taking care of her –after all, she knew Blaine would give it a much better use than she could ever do.

Very slowly, and with all the caution in the world, Puck half-opened the door, just enough for his gun to fit through it and point directly at their visitor’s head.

“One wrong move and you are a dead man” Puck said in a threatening tone before he had even been able to see if he was talking to a living human. “Mine is not the only weapon pointing at you at the moment, just so you know”

“I’m unarmed” the person outside the door whispered, letting everybody know that he was a man and that he was, obviously, alive.

“Who are you and what the hell do you want?” Puck asked, resisting the urge to just put a bullet in his brain after all the suffering his people had caused them –but he could be a prisoner, as Sam had been, so he needed to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“Maybe you could let me inside?” the man whispered again. “There are hundreds of these monsters around and it’s not safe out here, you know?”

Puck hesitated for a second, even turning around to ask for a silent permission from everyone to let that man inside. And after a couple of nods from his friends, he finally opened the door fully, carefully keeping the gun pointed at his head.

“We’ve been deceived before, so don’t even try anything or you won’t even have the time to regret it” Puck warned him, wanting him to know they were not that gullible and were not going to fall into any trap, as he motioned for his brother to frisk the man.

“I come in piece, guys” the man said once he was inside as he got to the full group staring intently at him, but he didn’t ask them to lower their weapons because he could perfectly understand their lack of trust.

“Have you been bitten?” Blaine immediately asked when he saw all the blood covering the man –as Marley had said–, worried about what that could mean to them if he transformed.

“No, this blood isn’t mine” the man hurried to explain, understanding the image he was giving. “I smeared some blood on my clothes from one of those monsters so I would smell like them and I wouldn’t be detected. If you’re really quiet, you can pass by them”

The rank of expressions on the faces of the youngsters went from disgust to admiration. It took a lot of courage to walk among the walkers even if you were disguised… and to have a strong stomach to just get your hands inside one of those creatures to take their blood and their guts and rub them on you.

“Who are you?” Mike asked in complete mistrust at the intelligent man in front of him, also standing up from where he had been crouching down next to Sam to feel less vulnerable.

“Are you a prisoner from that people?” Trent asked, hoping against hope that was a good man and they wouldn’t need to fight him, because heaven knew they had had enough of that for the day.

“No” the man confessed tentatively, knowing the reaction he was going to get from them. “I’m the person in charge of this community. They call me the Major”

No one was fast enough to stop Blaine for making all the way to the man and pointing his gun right to his temple, pressing it so hard they knew it had to hurt, such was his anger at the discovery. Even if the man never complained.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Blaine practically spat at him, his anger so vicious that he seemed a completely different person than the sweet and understanding boy they were so used to.

“Blaine” Sam called him from his place, trying to calm him down and keep him from doing something he might regret later, hating his injury for preventing him from being able to walk to him and physically restrain him and offer him all his support.

Blaine seemed to perceive the warning and the understanding in his boyfriend’s voice, though, so he tried to calm himself down even if his grip on the gun didn’t falter one bit.

“I made you a question” he repeated, looking intently at the man.

“I came to offer you a deal” the Major answered with surprising calmness, especially considering there was a gun pointing at his head and held by a very angry young man.

“You’ve got to be kidding me” Blaine retorted with a sarcastic snort.

“I’m not” the man replied. “I know we’ve all done some questionable things, but we can be stronger together, you guys and my people. Let’s fight the real enemy together, alright?”

“Some questionable things, you say?” Blaine repeated in a voice that showed how he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Look, I can see you’re good people and you know how to defend yourselves” the man explained, looking around in hopes of finding some sympathy amongst the youngsters. “We can do a lot of great things if we unite our talents. I think we can all put those things behind us and…”

“Never” Blaine promised as he threateningly increased the pressure of the weapon on the man’s forehead, to which Sam hissed in fear of what he might do –because it sounded as Blaine wouldn’t like anything more than to kill that man right there and then, even if he hadn’t yet. “We’re never going to ally with monsters like you”

“I’m sorry, I think there has been a confusion here” the Major retorted as he inexplicably smiled wickedly at the boys. “It was not a suggestion”

“Everybody get their weapons down or he gets a bullet in his brain” another voice behind them caught their attention and made them turn around.

And their bloods ran cold when they discovered another man going down the stairs of the house, with a similar smile on his face and what was worse: holding Sebastian with an arm around his neck and pointing his gun directly at the side of the boy’s head.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! As usual lately, sorry for the delay :( But hey, it's sooooooo long you're going to have to forgive me!
> 
> Well, I have really no idea how to proceed after this chapter! I think the time has come when I need to start walking towards the end of this fic, both because I think it has given everything it had to give now and because I want to get rid of it so badly! :) The thing is I have an ending in my head already... Which of course I have to completely make up because the actual show is still going (and after the last episode, maybe they should be thinking about ending it too, you know).
> 
> The thing is the ending, as most endings of action of Scifi stories, will probably be a bit disappointing. They always are, after all the action. But for now I haven't come up with anything better, and I will try to do my very best. Hope you can forgive me ;)
> 
> That doesn't mean the next chapter will be the last. But the end is coming soon. Just so you know ;)

The anger Blaine felt when he saw that man –one of the men who had kidnapped him and Sam the day before, he immediately realized–, going down the stairs while pointing a gun at Sebastian’s head, was so big he doubted he had ever felt more furious. After what those people had done, after all the pain they had caused them –especially him–, they still had the guts to trick them. And they had surely made a mistake picking his best friend to do it.

“Ok, everyone carefully leave your guns on the floor and kick them away from yourselves” the man said.

Everyone rushed to obey, not wanting to risk losing Sebastian too –that man was holding him around the neck so strongly that the tall boy could hardly breathe, and the gun pointing at his temple would surely fulfill his task if that man decided to pull the trigger.

Except for Blaine. Blaine, who was so angry he couldn’t even think. Whose desire to kill those men was starting to cloud his mind. For whom seeing his best friend being threatened like that was just the last straw.

“You son of a bitch!” Blaine murmured as he pressed the barrel of his gun more strongly against the Major’s forehead again. “You tricked us!”

“I recommend you to lower your weapon now, sonny” the man holding Sebastian said in a sardonic tone once they reached the last step of the staircase. “Unless you want to see your friend with a bullet in his head”

“We let you in!” Blaine shouted at the Major, ignoring the other man. It was true, they hadn’t trusted him that much, but they still had let him in and hadn’t expected for him to deceive them like that. It just made Blaine feel more and more disgusted at the human race, or what was left of it, with each passing minute. And he doubted he would ever have faith in it again. “Tell your henchman to let go of my friend or I’ll kill you right now!”

“You’re not in the position to make any demands, sonny” the shooter threatened while the grip on Sebastian’s neck visibly strengthened.

“Let go of him!” Blaine yelled in rage, as his gun turned to the man in a threatening way, but Blaine was not an idiot and he knew he couldn’t risk a shot from that distance –he could easily hit Sebastian instead.

“You have three seconds to let go of that gun”

“Let him go!” Blaine yelled again, resisting to the idea of them becoming the prisoners of that people again, not wanting to give away the only weapon they still had.

“One…” the man started counting.

“How do I know you’re not going to kill him anyway?” Blaine screamed in a desperate rage, voicing one of his biggest fears: if he let go of the gun, they would all be at those men’s mercy, and they had already shown how evil they were.

“Two…” the man continued, ignoring his question, with a wicked smirk that showed how much he was enjoying the moment.

“Blaine…” Sam tried to warn his boyfriend from his place on the floor, implicitly pleading him to obey, and only then Blaine reacted and finally understood he didn’t have another option if he didn’t want to lose Sebastian too.

“Alright, alright” Blaine exclaimed with all the pain in his heart as he lowered the gun and carefully left it on the floor in surrender. “But please, don’t hurt him”

“Of course he won’t hurt him” the major intervened, trying to sound conciliatory even as he walked to pick the gun Blaine had just given up in his own hand, as he didn’t need to pretend he was defenseless anymore. “Jim, make sure to keep that boy safe as long as everyone behaves”

“Sure, Major” Jim agreed even if the tone of his voice belied how disappointed he was at the resolution and the grip around Sebastian’s neck didn’t lose a bit of its strength.

“I’m sorry I had to betray your trust” the major said, turning to Blaine again, since he could sense he kind of was the leader of the group. “But as you will understand, we couldn’t trust you so easily after what you did, right?”

“What we did?” Blaine repeated in a disbelieving tone, and he seemed about to jump on that man –even forgetting about the two weapons that could easily end up his life at any moment– until Sam put an end to it again.

“Blaine! Stop!” he called on him –once again cursing his inability to move when he was surely needed at Blaine’s side to comfort him and to keep him in check– hoping his boyfriend would listen to him even if he was getting more and more scared by the second at Blaine’s reckless attitude.

“Yeah, you better listen to him, _Blaine_ ” Jim intervened in a sarcastic tone. “I didn’t come here to kill anyone, but I won’t hesitate to do it, if I have to”

“You won’t have to” Sam answered in his place, in a pleading tone as he looked at him. “He will behave from now on”

“But just so we’re sure, go and stand there next to your friends” the Major ordered in the most friendly tone he could muster trying to avoid the confrontation and making sure not to have that angry young man too near in case he was unable to keep restricting himself any longer. “We don’t want any accidents”

Blaine was about to protest again until he heard a rumbling of clothes behind him and turned to see Sam trying to get on his feet even if the pain in his face easily belied how much he was hurting. Blaine knew he was the reason Sam felt he needed to be on his feet, to comfort him  or even restrain him if it came to that, and immediately felt guilty that he had put him in that position. Not wanting for him to hurt more than necessary, Blaine rushed to him and put Sam’s arm around his shoulders so he could use him as a support as he finally came to stand only on his healthy leg. And just the way Sam’s gentle fingers closed around his shoulder in silent support –and more than a bit of warning– made Blaine calm down, even if slightly.

“You okay?” Blaine asked in a whisper when the wince in Sam’s face failed to disappear after a minute, but his face immediately relaxed at his boyfriend’s question.

“I am now” Sam answered as he squeezed Blaine’s shoulder and let more of his weight rest on the shorter boy so he would believe he really needed him to stand and wouldn’t think to move away from him again, even if it felt like a dirty trick. “Please, just stay here next to me, I need you”

Blaine looked intently at his boyfriend for a moment: he could see Sam was trying to refrain his need to kiss his cheek or his temple to comfort him like he usually did, as he didn’t want to make the mistake of letting those men know about their feelings again –even if Sam was sure that man would end up recognizing Blaine from the day before, if he hadn’t done it yet–; he could also the worry in Sam’s green eyes, the absolute fear that Blaine would end up doing something stupid and he wouldn’t be able to stop him. And that’s exactly what Blaine felt like doing: jumping at that man holding Sebastian and fight for the gun at least until Sebastian was out of his grasp. He knew that the Major also had a gun now, and he quite probably would shoot at him if he did that. But by then at least Sebastian would be safe and he wouldn’t have to go through the unbearable pain of losing someone he loved again.

But he couldn’t do it. He didn’t want that kind of pain on Sam either, and that’s what would happen if he got himself killed right in front of him. He could feel himself losing his mind, dying to move, needing to cry and shout and break things at the excruciating pain in his heart that he could even physically feel in his chest and that it was making it difficult even to breathe normally. He felt as if it almost didn’t matter what happened to him as long as he didn’t lose anybody else. But it mattered. He knew how much it mattered to Sam, if only by the fear in his eyes and the way his hand was not just resting on his shoulder but holding onto it, half for comfort, half to keep him there. If only for Sam, Blaine knew he couldn’t just lose the will to live. Soon he would need to confront his pain, his guilt and his grief. And then he would need to survive. And he would do it only for Sam. So he only nodded back at him, with a silent promise to stay put for the moment, and reciprocated the almost invisible smile Sam gave him in response.

“I’m sorry I had to trick you, but I knew it was the only way you would let me talk” the Major broke the silence again once he was sure Blaine wasn’t a direct danger anymore, as the injured boy holding onto him seemed to have a calming effect over him somehow. “But I wasn’t lying: we are offering you a safe place to stay”

“Safe?” Puck repeated with a sarcastic snort. “I have to disagree on that”

“That’s why we need you” the major answered, trying to sound convincing and not threatening, even if they were pointing their weapons at them. “You seem to know what you are doing. And you guys need us too, you know? We have resources: food, weapons, warm houses… And you know as well as I do that all that is just as important to survive”

Everybody fell in silence for a moment, not really knowing what to say. The two guns on those men’s hands –one pointing at Sebastian, the other one not directly on anyone but ready to do it if needed– made them doubt they could really give an honest opinion about the offer. And as much as it hurt them… they knew that man was right. Not having to travel, or worry about what they were going to eat or how cold was it going to get that night, being surrounded by more people… It all sounded too tempting. Like it almost was too good to be true.

But on the other hand… What those people did to keep themselves safe… And the fact that they had been the cause of Cooper’s death… Accepting it would be the worst betrayal towards his brother, the one that had lead them and kept them safe until then. Judging by the anger and the disbelief in Blaine’s face, he was never going to be able to forgive them. So staying there would surely imply separating from him and, most probably, Sam too, as he was surely not going to leave Blaine behind.

The man seemed to sense their hesitation, and tried again, focusing more on the people who looked easier to convince and avoiding Blaine’s gaze at all costs.

“We just need to rebuild the wall and make it stronger… You can help us with that. And then we can all forgive and forget”

“Forgive?” Blaine asked with a humorless laugh, unable to keep silent any longer as that man implied they needed to be forgiven.

“Well, you came in here, destroyed our home and killed half of us, after all” the major protested, still trying to sound conciliatory but not wanting to leave any room for doubt about what his position was about what had happened. “It’s not going to be easy to convince what’s left of my people to give you guys a chance after what you did, but I will convince them, they will listen to me”

“We came here because you kidnapped one of us” Blaine retorted, the anger clearly returning to him in spite of the reassuring squeeze in his shoulder coming from Sam. “Don’t try to feign we started this war”

“You came here for one of the prisoners?” the Major asked in surprise, as he had thought those youngsters had just assaulted the place in search of food or shelter.

“Yes, we brought that blond one yesterday” Jim intervened, pointing at Sam with his head. “So I guess you were able to free him, right?”

“You bet we did” Blaine answered in a proud tone.

“And wait… you look familiar” Jim continued, looking intently at Blaine for the first time and smiling with recognition. “Aren’t you the other one we tried to take but was slowing us down because of some injury?”

“Yes” Blaine answered, his blood boiling at what a good time that horrible man seemed to be having at his expense. “The one your friend hit in the head and left unconscious in the open, at the walkers’ mercy”

“And how are you even here?” Jim asked, almost in shock, considering that boy should be dead, either from the blow or at the hands of the walkers.

“I came for him” Blaine proudly answered, pointing at Sam with a movement of his head, knowing there was no sense in trying to hide their relationship anymore, knowing that man was well aware of it after what happened the day before.

“Amazing” the Major exclaimed in amazement. “That’s exactly the kind of people we want at our side”

“Well, you’re never going to have me” Blaine retorted in disgust, making sure to speak only for himself because he wasn’t going to impose his opinion and wouldn’t force anyone to side him on that if they decided to join those people. He could understand their offer was quite tempting and he wouldn’t oppose if anyone wanted to stay with them –even if he would be terribly disappointed at them. “I’m never going to side with monsters like you”

“We are not the monsters you need to confront, sonny” the Major replied in a paternal tone. “We can fight the real enemy together”

“There is not just one enemy” Blaine added, and the fact he was keeping his voice low didn’t make it less scary. “And I’d rather die than fighting next to someone like you”

“We can arrange that” Jim intervened, moving his gun away from Sebastian’s temple for the first time to point it directly at Blaine, even from the distance.

A few of the youngster gasped in fear, and Sam rushed to push Blaine slightly behind him to protect him from any possible bullet in an instinctive reaction. And that’s how Blaine found himself having to take a step backwards to regain his balance after Sam’s push and from his new position he was able to see that Marley, who had been next to him but was now in front of him, seemed to have forgotten she had a gun on the waistband of her jeans, that nobody had noticed until then because it was at her back.

Blaine contemplated just picking it up and threaten the intruders, but he knew it was still two against one and Sebastian was still at the mercy of one of them. He wasn’t going to do it just yet, but it was nice to know the chance was there. He just needed to wait for the opportune moment.

“Jim, calm down” the Major immediately ordered, and they could see how much power he had over him –and they supposed everyone else– when Jim immediately relaxed and returned the barrel of his gun towards Sebastian’s temple. “We came here in peace, remember?”

“I’m sorry, Major” the man apologized.

“Look, Blaine. It’s Blaine, right?” the Major asked, trying to look friendly towards who by now he was sure was the leader of the group, knowing he only needed to convince him and the other ones would just follow. At least it was how it worked in his own community, so he didn’t expect it to be different. “I apologize for what my men did to you and your friend”

“And what about all the people you caught before us, who knows how many there were? Are you going to apologize to them too?” Blaine sarcastically asked.

“I know it might seem wrong… but what we did is not that different from what you did”

“What the hell?” Sam intervened before he could stop himself, thinking in that woman that had given her life for him.

“You killed a lot of people today”

“We were only trying to defend ourselves!” Sam practically yelled, and this time it was Blaine the one to hold onto him to calm him down.

“So were we” the Major calmly answered, leaving Sam speechless with his words because he couldn’t say they were entirely wrong. “We did what we had to do to survive. We killed to survive, yeah. Just as you did”

“It’s not the same” Mike added. “We were only defending ourselves against people attacking us. We’ve never used innocent people for our benefit”

“Ok, I hear you” the Major relented. “We can work on that. We will find other ways if that makes you feel uncomfortable”

“Uncomfortable?” Blaine repeated with a sarcastic snort. “Uncomfortable you say?”

“Ok, so what do you want?” the Major asked, starting to lose his patience. “Let’s negotiate”

“We won’t negotiate anything as long as my friend has a gun against his temple” Blaine spat as he turned his gaze towards Sebastian, who tried to look calm so as not to send his friend into a rage that could put him in danger again.

“It’s okay, Blaine” Sebastian was able to say over the strong grip that man was keeping on his neck.

“No, it’s not okay” Blaine contradicted him, his anger getting stronger again at the unfair treatment his friend was receiving. “I refuse to keep talking while he’s being threatened like that”

“I’m not going to let go of him when I positively know I can’t trust you” Jim answered, obviously not as diplomatic as his leader.

“That’s right. You can’t trust us, same as we can’t trust you. It’s never going to work, so I suggest you to go straight back to where you came from” Blaine said in such a threatening tone that for a moment Sam believed those men were going to obey –he would probably have in their place.

“I’m going to say it again: you’re not in the position to give us any orders, sonny” the Major answered after a few seconds of surprised silence.

“Count again, _Major_ ” Blaine retorted in full sarcasm at his paternalism. _“_ There are a few more of us than you”

“But we’ve got the weapons” Jim intervened.

“We can still fight for them, you know?” Blaine threatened, even if it was just a bluff: he didn’t intend to put anyone else in danger.

“My people are just waiting outside, at the rooftops, to shoot at you as soon as I tell them to do it” the Major explained, all pretence of being nice forgotten at that boy’s stubbornness and continuous refusal to collaborate.

“So you tricked us again” Blaine answered without a hint of surprise.

“I’m getting tired of this game. If you won’t join us the easy way, then you will do it the hard way, I don’t care”

“You can’t trust people to collaborate with you under threat”

“You wanna try?” the Major asked, wanting to intimidate the other one, even if the effect it elicited was exactly the opposite.

“Do it. Try” Blaine dared him, even taking a step forwards so he wouldn’t be half hidden behind Sam and Marley anymore. “See if you can make me do what you want”

“Blaine, stop” Sam immediately ordered, confused at Blaine’s odd behavior and scared it would come a time when he wouldn’t be able to stop him anymore.

“No, I won’t stop. You know what they did” Blaine desperately tried to make his boyfriend understand his pain, his inability to stay still, looking intently at him with shiny eyes full of tears he refused to shed. “I’m not going to join them under any circumstance”

“If you won’t help us then you will be used as a bait” the Major threatened, but Blaine was well beyond the line of being afraid of anything.

“I’d rather do that that cooperate with murderers like you” Blaine spat at him, only noticing how much he had started to shake when Sam held onto him more strongly in an attempt to stop it.

“The rest of you agree with him?” the major asked, looking at everyone else. But any doubt they might have had until then immediately disappeared under the threat of what they were going to do to Blaine. Whatever happened, they would all face it together. “Ok, so then all of you get going: you’re our prisoners now”

“That was your whole purpose from the beginning, wasn’t it?” Blaine asked, as he hadn’t believed those man’s kind words for even a second.

“Only after you had shared all your knowledge and ideas with us, yes” the Major admitted with a wicked grin, causing so much disgust in Blaine with his lack of humanness that he was starting to feel nauseous. “But unfortunately that it’s not going to happen, so we can stop pretending now” the Major continued as he grabbed Trent’s shoulder –as he was the one closer to him– and roughly pushed him towards the door. “You really thought we were going to forgive you after what you all did?”

Everyone stayed rooted to their places, not knowing how to proceed: those men, with their guns pointed at them, were ordering them to move, probably to take them where Sam had been held prisoner the night before. Not moving would imply for them to be killed; but obeying would end up in them being used as shields and dying anyway, while helping those monsters survive. And even if they didn’t dare to hope too much, somehow they were waiting for something to happen; they were expecting Blaine to do something, as he surely didn’t seem willing to obey.

“I said start moving!” the Major angrily yelled when he saw the lack of response to his orders, but again everybody turned to Blaine to know how to proceed.

“I’m not moving from here” Blaine surprisingly answered in a stubborn tone.

“Move” the Major murmured in obvious rage as his gun moved to point directly at Blaine, even from the distance, but Blaine only shook his head in negation as an answer. “Move or I’ll kill you right now!”

Sam could see that man getting more furious by the second, and it scared him not knowing if he was serious about his threats. He could perfectly understand his boyfriend: after everything that had happened, he didn’t want to surrender, especially considering they were going to kill them later anyway. But he couldn’t let him do it: if they were made prisoners, they would still have a little time to think about how to escape; if he was shot in the head right there and then, it was over.

“Blaine, come on” Sam begged him to move as he grabbed Blaine’s forearm and tried to push him, but Blaine was much more stubborn than that and Sam was too unstable on his feet to give much of a fight.

“I’m not giving them that satisfaction if they’re going to kill us anyway” Blaine protested, extricating his arm from Sam’s grip in which looked like an angry gesture –even if what he was trying to do was to free himself for what he was going to do next.

“The Major told you to move!” Jim yelled from the other side of the room, coming a couple of steps closer to the group of friends even if he was practically dragging Sebastian with him.

“Make me!” Blaine confronted him, trying to bring that man to his limit even if the others flinched with fear and confusion.

“Ok, if you won’t care about yourself, maybe you will care about your friend” the man said as he once again glued the barrel of his gun to Sebastian’s forehead in a threatening way. “Move right now or I’ll kill him right in front of your eyes”

“You’re not going to waste a good bait like that” Blaine retorted in what he hoped was a confident tone even if he could feel his voice starting to shake. Yeah, he had an strategy, but he didn’t want to put Sebastian in more danger than he already was.

“One” the man started counting again, playing that game he seemed to like so much.

“Blaine…” Sebastian begged, surprised Blaine would endanger his life like that, and it was very hard for Blaine to close his ears to his friend desperate plea.

Blaine knew he didn’t have any time to lose, or they would lose Sebastian and that was something he was not willing to allow. Very slowly, and taking advantage of the fact he was still partially behind Marley, he drove his hand to the gun on her waistband and closed his fingers around them in a strong grip.

“Two…” the man continued, to which Sebastian closed his eyes in a desperate attempt to isolate himself from the terror that scene was causing.

Blaine took the gun out of Marley’s jeans in one swift and calculated move just when Jim’s eyes turned to the prey trembling in his arms to make sure the gun was placed in the exact point to kill him instantly, as he definitely was willing to kill him without any kind of remorse.

“Three” he finished with a satisfied grin, obviously glad that Blaine had refused to obey and he had the chance to kill.

But before he could even think to pull the trigger, he was shocked to see Blaine had place himself in front of him in a couple of strikes in the brief moment his eyes had lost sight of him. The cold of the gun pressing between his eyebrows paralyzed him for a second, but he still had time to react and tried again to shoot. Unfortunately for him, Blaine noticed his movement and beat him to it.

Jim never felt a thing as Blaine’s bullet entered his brain and blood splashed all around him, including Sebastian’s shocked faced. The thud of his body as he fell to the floor resounded around the room almost as much as the shot had done. And then there was silence as everyone turned to look at Blaine in shock.

“Now you leave the gun on the floor, _Major”_ Blaine sardonically said as he turned around, his arms stretched in front of him to point his still fuming gun towards the other man.

The Major seemed to come out of his stupor when Blaine spoke and tried to lift his forgotten gun to defend himself but it was too late: the others had reacted too and they were starting to retrieve theirs to also point it at him. And in the end he knew he didn’t have any other alternative than to leave his at the floor and raise his arms in surrender.

“Seb, you okay?” Blaine asked while starting to walk slowly and menacingly towards the Major.

“Yeah” Sebastian answered with a gulp after massaging his sore throat for a couple of seconds, trying to diminish the tightness of it and clam himself enough so his heart would stop beating as if it was about to burst.

“I’m sorry it had to be like that, I didn’t know what else to do” Blaine apologized, this time turning around to look apologetically at his friend for a second, knowing all the others were keeping the Major at bay too.

“It’s okay” Sebastian immediately diminished the importance of it, because Blaine had only been trying to save him, even if he had scared the life out of him. “You saved my life”

“I think the tables have changed now” Blaine said as he came to stand in front of the Major, who by then seemed to be very scared at the turn of events and the seemingly fearless young man in front of him. He had really underestimated those young’uns, hadn’t he?

“Please, just listen to me, we can still make it work” the man answered, begging for his life.

“You said you wanted to make us your prisoners to use us only a minute ago”

“It was just a way to make you react, I wasn’t going to do it”

“You never do anything wrong, right?” Blaine said, looking intently and defiantly at him. “You always have an excuse. Yet just yesterday your men hit me and left me to die in the woods”

“I already apologized for that” the Major reminded him, hoping it would make a difference, but the anger and the underlying pain in Blaine’s eyes made him doubt he was going to be that lucky.

“They took my boyfriend to use him as a bait for those walkers, same as you did with that poor woman and who know how many more” Blaine continued, ignoring the Major’s attempts to convince him, almost as if he really needed to enumerate all the reasons that had brought him to hate him that much if he didn’t want to go crazy. “I almost lost him that way”

“We can work that out” the Major tried again, but the intensity in Blaine’s gaze made him stop, not wanting to anger him any further.

“My brother is dead because of you” Blaine continued with the same steady tone even if silent tears were making their way down his cheeks without him even noticing. “And nothing you say now is going to return him to me”

Sam sighed with sadness as he heard his boyfriend struggle with his sorrow like that. Then more than ever he wished he could just walk to him and envelop him in a strong embrace, like he always did when the shorter boy was in need of some comfort. He was dying to squeeze him strongly to his chest while his lips kissed the side of his face, softly whispering next to his ear how everything was going to be alright. Although this time it wasn’t going to be alright. This time the worst imaginable thing had happened and no embrace or sweet gesture were going to give Cooper back to Blaine. And he doubted Blaine would even accept the embrace while the Major was still there and they hadn’t decided yet what to do with him.

Although Sam didn’t think there was going to be a decision, at least not from anyone other than Blaine. His boyfriend seemed to know what he wanted to do with that man, whatever it was, and Sam doubted anyone was going to question him or stop him from doing whatever the hell he wanted, after how much he had suffered. And Sam couldn’t care less about that man’s fate, obviously. He just hoped Blaine didn’t have to regret his actions for the rest of his life.

“I don’t know how that happened, but I’m so sorry about that, you have to believe me” the Major begged, not even thinking about his self-respect if that gave him the chance to survive, whatever the conditions.

“And now you dare to come here and lie to us and threaten my best friend?” Blaine continued, almost as if he was speaking to himself. “You’ve screwed with the wrong people, you bastard”

“Blaine” Sam called him, wanting him to look at him so Blaine could read in his eyes how much he loved him and understood him, and how afraid he was of this new attitude of his, but Blaine didn’t even give him the chance and continued looking intently at the Major.

“I can’t be hold responsible for everything those men did” the Major defended himself.

“Oh, so they’re not your people anymore?” Blaine retorted with a humorless snort. “They would do anything you told them to, you said so yourself. You orchestrated all this horror”

“Please, no. You’re good people, I can tell, you are not going to kill a defenseless man” the man begged, not even trying to find more excuses but looking for some compassion.

“I’m not going to kill you” Blaine answered, to which Sam sighed in relief. “You’re right, I can’t possibly kill an unarmed man in cold blood”

“Thank God” the man cried in relief, daring to put his hand on Blaine’s shoulder in a grateful gesture. “Thank you, my boy, thank you”

Just the touch of that man’s filthy hand was enough to make Blaine’s blood boil. He didn’t want his gratitude, he didn’t feel the need to be the bigger man. Just his touch was enough to remind Blaine that, even if he was not going to kill him, he wanted him to pay. He wanted him to suffer, just as Cooper had done.

“Take off your clothes” Blaine said in the coldest tone Sam had ever heard in him while angrily slapping the man’s hand away from him.

“What?”

“Take off anything that it has that stinky odor in it”

“You can’t…” the Major tried to protest, knowing what Blaine was implying when he ordered him the get rid of anything that had walker’s blood and smell in it: that he was going to be left outside without any kind of protection.

“Do it or I will kill you myself even if I don’t want to, and you know my hand won’t shake” Blaine spat at him, angrily pressing the gun in the man’s forehead.

Everyone seemed quite surprised at the events unfolding in front of them, because Blaine had always been the most considerate and compassionate person they had ever met and he was now implying he was going to get that man killed, even if he was not going to do it himself. But they couldn’t bring themselves to stop him, because what where they supposed to do with that man anyway? Make him their prisoner so he would become another mouth to feed and a constant reminder for Blaine of what he had lost? To let him go and risk for him to get his people ready and outsmart them again?

There really wasn’t any other possibility than to kill him, whatever the way they chose. And if having him eaten by those monsters after all the people who had suffered that same fate at his hands, including Cooper, could make Blaine feel better… so be it.

“Please, they’re going to eat me alive” the man begged, his own eyes filling with desperate tears once he understood Blaine was not going to change his mind.

“Tell that to my brother” Blaine answered, his face getting so close in a threatening manner to that man’s that he could smell his filthy breath. “And now take off your clothes unless you want me to put a different end to this”

The man hesitantly obeyed, breaking into pathetic sobs that did nothing to break Blaine’s resolution as he held his gun in front of him, until he was left in only his underwear, the only items that hadn’t been stained with walker’s blood.

“Please, Blaine” the man implored once again while being pushed towards the door by Puck and Blaine, and Sam could have sworn he had seen a tiny flicker of hesitation in his lover’s eyes, even if it was gone as quickly as it came. “I’ll do anything you want”

“I want you to die” Blaine admitted as Jake opened the door for them. “And now I advise you to run” he added as he pushed the man outside and closed the door after him.

There was an uncomfortable silence amongst the youngsters, only broken by the desperate pounding of the Major on the closed door and his terrified pleading to let him in again. Of course no one moved a muscle to help him, knowing that getting rid of him was what they needed to do, but listening to a man begging for his life was surely not pleasant.

They were only slightly surprised when all the whole uproar stopped all of a sudden, and some of them moved to the windows to see what was happening: of course the man had finally understood they were not going to help them and, when he realized he was attracting the walkers with all the noise, he simply decided to run and try to make an escape.

But he was only one man, and he didn’t have any kind of weapon with him. And even if he was faster than the walkers, they kept appearing from everywhere and it didn’t take them long to surround him until he had no way to escape.

Without exception, everyone who was looking through the window winced at the first bite and at the terrifying screams it elicited on the victim. Screams that seemed to go on and on for a long time, long after they stopped looking. But they refused to feel sorry for him, because that’s what he had done to a lot of people before.

No one seemed to know what to do, looking at each other with sympathy and confusion and disgust at what had just happen. They all looked at Blaine, wanting to see how he was, hoping he would take the lead on how to proceed from then on. But what they didn’t expect him to do was to resolutely open the door and walk outside as if it wasn’t the most dangerous thing he could do.

“Blaine!” Sam yelled as soon as he saw what was happening, trying to stop him with his voice since he couldn’t do it with his hands, but Blaine ignored him and continued walking decidedly until he was passed the house’s porch, well in the view of any possible shooter still hiding in the rooftops.

“He’s dead, you hear me?” Blaine shouted at the top of his lungs as he looked upwards even if he couldn’t directly see anyone, hoping any person who had been left behind would hear his words and know what was going to happen to them if they tried to confront him. “You cowards, your leader is dead, there is nothing left for you to do here but fly!”

Sam winced as he tried to walk towards the door, not caring about the pain it was causing him if that meant getting to the boy he loved and stopping him from killing himself, either at the hands of the shooters or at the walkers’ hunger. But even if he ignored the pain, it was impossible he was going to get Blaine in time before something happened to him, and he seemed to be well beyond himself at the moment to trust him to do the most reasonable thing.

“For God’s sake, get him inside!” Sam pleaded at the astounded friends, who still had to move a muscle, and fortunately it was enough to get Sebastian and Mike out of his stupor so they could obey and run behind the upset young man.

“You’ll get what you deserve one way or another, you bastards!” Blaine continued yelling, hoping to discourage them of trying to fight them now that their leader was dead, even if he wasn’t aware of the danger he was putting himself in.

And he was in danger, indeed. Not only was out there in the open, at the hands of any possible shooter who hadn’t totally lost the courage to fight –and the fact they hadn’t shot at him yet just showed everyone how right the Major had been about those people being lost without him–, but his shouting was attracting the walkers that couldn’t reach the Major’s body because it was buried under dozens of them. It was a matter of time that Blaine would end up being a victim of one of those two perils, and his friends weren’t going to permit it.

“Blaine!” Sebastian tried to call him from the porch without being too loud, so he wouldn’t attract any more walkers, but Blaine was too gone out of his mind to even acknowledge he had heard him.

“You’re all going to end up just like him!” Blaine screamed at the top of his lungs.

Sebastian didn’t think twice and this time didn’t even try to convince his friend: he just ran to him and put his arms around him from behind with the intention of pulling him towards the house. What he hadn’t been expecting, though, was the strength with which Blaine was going to fight against him.

“Let go of me!” Blaine screamed with rage, furiously trying to disentangle himself from those arms that were trying to move him.

“Blaine, it’s me, Seb” Sebastian whispered to him in a calming voice, wondering if Blaine was even aware of who has holding him or he thought he was fighting for his life. “I’ve got you. Now let’s go”

Sebastian’s voice was enough to put an end to his struggles, but he still didn’t move from where he was standing. It wasn’t until a bullet ricocheted right at their feet that Blaine understood the peril they were in.

“Blaine!” Sam desperately called him from the house’s door, his voice full of fear at what seemed about to happen, and only when Blaine raised his confused eyes towards him, as if getting out of a trance thanks to his voice, that Sam could see he wasn’t even aware of what was happening.

Alerted by the shot, Mike didn’t wait to see if Blaine would react or they could convince him: he just ran towards the two friends and helped Sebastian in pulling Blaine towards the house. This time, though, Blaine didn’t resist anymore and let himself be pulled as fast as possible, finally understanding the danger they were in when he felt the walkers gurgling noise way closer than a few seconds before.

Sebastian and Mike ran with him in between them, not giving him the chance to escape, and only when they were at the door they let go of him and into Sam’s arms, that immediately closed around his smaller frame in a relieved embrace that Blaine was too petrified to reciprocate.

“Get inside, come on” Sebastian warned them with a final and careful push to the couple so he could safely close the door behind him, which he did just as the fist walker reached the porch of the house.

“You okay?” Sam asked after breaking the embrace, his heart still racing with fear, and cupping Blaine’s cheeks so he couldn’t avoid his gaze.

But Blaine never answered. Instead he just disentangled himself from Sam’s grip and ran.

“Blaine!” Sam yelled after him, terrified that he was going to put himself in danger again before he had the chance to stop him, but he was momentarily relieved when he saw Blaine opening a couple of doors, as if looking for something, and disappearing after the third one.

“He just needs a moment” Sebastian said with a comforting hand on Sam’s shoulders, meaning to defend his best friend and his current odd behavior and reassure Sam at the same time.

“You’re right” Sam answered with a sigh, willing his heart to return to a normal pace after being close to having to watch Blaine being shot or eaten alive right in front of his eyes. “I’ll go see if he needs me, though”

It took a long time for Sam to reach the room in which Blaine had disappeared due to his more than obvious limp, but no one tried to stop him because they could see how determined he was to get there and how much those two needed each other. They were more than a bit worried about how Blaine was going to cope with his brother’s loss and the stunt he had just performed –and which he hadn’t seem to be aware of– just proved them right. They just hoped Sam would be able to help him. If someone could do it, that was definitely him.

Sam was about to knock on the door, but he realized that in his hurry, Blaine hadn’t even bothered to close it. Sam was surprised it was a bathroom the place Blaine had chosen to hide in, but the sound of retching and the way Blaine was doubled over in front of the toilet showed Sam what was really happening.

Without a word, Sam walked the rest of the way separating them and rested a hand on Blaine’s back as the latter continued retching and coughing until there was nothing else in his stomach. Sam’s eyes filled with tears at his boyfriend’s pain, the obvious turmoil and guilt inside of him, and wondered if this time he would be able to make it better. He was starting to doubt it, after all.

“Feeling better?” Sam asked in a soft voice when Blaine finally dared to straighten his body, his face read and spent after the vomiting.

“Yeah” Blaine answered as he walked towards the washbasin to clean his face and gargle some water to get rid of the awful taste in his mouth. “I’m sorry you had to see me like this”

“Don’t be silly, we’ve all been sick before” Sam dismissed Blaine’s apology as he walked closer to him, hoping Blaine wouldn’t reject his touch this time.

“No, I meant… outside” Blaine corrected him with only a thread of voice.

“You’re safe now and that’s all that matters” Sam made light of the situation again even if he perfectly knew what Blaine meant, and instead he just put his arms around him again and hoped against hope that Blaine would accept his embrace.

“How could I do that?” Blaine asked, more at himself than at Sam, and even if his arms remained at each side of his body, at least he let his head rest on Sam’s shoulder.

“You did what needed to be done” Sam answered, squeezing Blaine more strongly to him as he avoided saying the entire truth: that yes, Blaine had done what was necessary killing those two men; but it had scared the hell out of Sam to see him like that.

“I’m a monster” Blaine whispered as he buried his face in Sam’s shoulder as if he was trying to disappear. “Just like them”

“No, Blaine” Sam answered with a kiss to the top of Blaine’s head, knowing that it was crucial to make him understand he still loved him to no end and that his opinion of him hadn’t changed one bit. “You wouldn’t be feeling like this if you were”

But they didn’t have the time to discuss it any longer as some blows that they knew very well started hitting the front wall of the house, and when they raised their heads to look at each other, they could see in each other’s eyes the same panic they knew was reflected in their own.

“We need to get out of here” Mike announced as he moved to rest his back against the front door to keep it closed just in case those walkers managed to open it. “We’re getting surrounded by walkers in this very moment”

“Not again” Blaine said as he closed his eyes with force for a second, as if that could stop it from becoming true, but he only needed the squeeze of Sam’s hand around his to make him react and get him into action: Sam still depended on him and he was not going to fail him the same way he had failed Cooper.

Blaine took advantage of the fact that his hand and Sam’s were connected to throw his boyfriend’s arm around his shoulders so he could use him as a crutch again and help him back to the living room, where all the others had turned impossibly pale at the prospect of ending the same way Cooper had done.

“We need to get out of here” Blaine resolutely said as they arrived to the living room again, making all the eyes in the room turn to him in an instant. “This town is not safe”

“But how?” Puck asked, hating himself for putting even more pressure in the already upset boy, especially considering he was in charge of keeping Sam safe again. “We can use the truck to escape, but how can we reach it?”

“We’ll do what the Major did” Blaine said, almost breaking down when he realized he could have saved Cooper’s life if he had thought about that before; but there was no turning back and they didn’t have any time to lose, so he hurried to explain the idea to his eager friends. “We have to blend into them, and we need to used their blood to do that”

Their pale skin turned to a greenish tone at the thought of having to smear those creatures’ repulsive blood and smell against their own body, but they knew Blaine was right: it was the only way they could pass amongst so many of them.

“And the people?” Marley asked.

“We will have to be careful, but I don’t think we need to be worried about them” Blaine explained. “Now that they don’t have a leader, I pretty much doubt they will still be there on the rooftops, waiting for us. They will be hiding or escaping themselves”

“You’re probably right” Mike agreed with a nod.

“Wait here” Blaine whispered to Sam’s ear, with an implicit promise to be back, before resting a gentle kiss to his cheek and leaving his side, to which Sam could only sigh in frustration as he once again had to see his boyfriend take charge of the situation –and even if it was comforting to see him acting more like himself, he hoped that he could just stand aside and let others take care of everything for once. “We need to let a few of them inside here. I think we will have enough with four of five of them”

“Won’t that be dangerous?” Trent asked when Blaine resolutely walked to the door.

“Probably” Blaine admitted as he positioned himself next to the door. “But we don’t have an alternative, do we?”

Trent sadly shook his head as he and some of the others also made their way to the door to help Blaine in whatever crazy plan he seemed to have already made.

“Ok, Sugar, Marley and Jake, you’re in charge of the door” he quickly began explaining his idea. “You will open it just a crack so only one walker can pass it through. I’ll be right here, next to the door, and kill them in an instant, so you can close the door as soon as it falls, and Sebastian and Trent will drag the body inside. We’ll repeat the procedure as many times as we need. Does everybody agree?”

Everyone nodded at him, because as dangerous as it looked, the plan seemed to make enough sense.

“Puck, you and Mike better watch the door too, in case they push too strongly and those guys can’t close it quickly enough”

All the mentioned kids –everyone who wasn’t hurt or taking care if the injured– took their positions under Blaine’s guidance and breathed deeply to encourage themselves. Sam breathed deeply too as he got to watch the scene from the distance, refusing to sit down even when Brittany walked to him to push him to an armchair. He hated being injured and he hated even more having to watch while everybody fought for their lives; while Blaine struggled to keep everyone alive. If something happened to him… But no, he couldn’t let himself get lost in those kind of negative thoughts: Blaine knew how to fight more than anyone and his plan, even if dangerous, was brilliant.

After Blaine nodded encouragingly at her, Sugar tried to open the door slightly. Of course that was impossible, and as soon as the walkers met no resistance, they pushed the door more strongly, making three of those monsters enter. Marley and Jake hurried to push with her and, even if they put a stop to their advances, they were still not able to close the door.

Blaine had been ready for the first walker and he quickly stabbed his machete in its skull in a skilled move. He hadn’t been expecting for them to enter so fast, but he still recovered quickly enough to be able to kill the second one too. But even his skills were not enough for the third one that quickly went for Blaine’s shoulder –to which Sam could only wince at what seemed about to happen–, but fortunately Sebastian had been close enough to help him and killed the monster before he could do any damage.

With Puck and Mike’s help, the others could finally close the door before endangering Blaine’s and Sebastian’s lives any longer, and everybody sighed in relief that they seemed to be in one piece.

“You okay?” Sebastian asked with a hand to the back ofBlaine’s neck, needing to make sure he hadn’t been bitten before he was able to stop it.

“Yeah, it didn’t get me” Blaine immediately reassured him, also turning to look at Sam and nod at him to let him know he was ok. “Ok, let’s get the injured ones ready first. How’s Kitty?”

“She’s waking up, but she won’t possibly be able to walk on her own” Unique, the one who had been taking care of her, answered.

“Ok then, Sam, Brittany and Santana, I need you to get ready”

Everyone obeyed, as usual, and it didn’t take more than another opening of the door to have enough material to cover all of them. The odor and the disgust amongst them were nauseating, but they refused to complain because smelling bad was the last of their problems.

“For it to work we have to be completely silent” Blaine advised the others as they were getting ready to leave, after packing some food, meds and clothes they had found in the house. “If they hear us talk they’ll know we’re not one of them”

“And we should try moving like them” Mike added. “No running. It’s bad enough that some of us will need to be helped, we need to walk slowly and heavily to pass by them without being acknowledged”

“I’ll help Sam” Blaine immediately offered, because he was not going to delegate that job on anyone else.

“We both will” Sebastian intervened before Blaine could even begin to protest. “It will be easier for him if he is supported at both sides. Right, Sam?”

“Sure” Sam rushed to answer, willing to do anything that would make it easier on his boyfriend.

“I will help Santana if she gets tired” Brittany added, as Santana wasn’t hurt that badly but her ribs had been badly bruised.

“And Unique and I will help Kitty” Puck said, glad for the small stature of the former cheerio as she was going to need a lot of help.

“Then it’s settled” Blaine finished as he took his place under Sam’s arm once again. “I say the sooner, the better”

They decided to use the back door as the backyard wasn’t that crowded to begin their path –there were so many walkers at the porch that they would have fallen on them as soon as they opened the door, right as they had done before–, and as Blaine and Mike had suggested, no one said a word and they tried to be slow even if their hearts were beating so loudly they were sure the walkers would end up hearing them.

When the first walker came to stand right in front of Trent, who was walking on the front, everyone held their breaths and silently prayed that their plan would be successful or he was a goner. The walker didn’t move from his side for a second, as if he was looking intently at him and trying to judge if he was a prey or not, but in the end it continued walking, much to everyone’s relief. Their plan seemed to be working.

The fact it was working didn’t make it any less scary, though, and Blaine’s arm closed more closely around Sam’s waist when a walker came dangerously close to the latter before also moving away. Sam had to fight against his urges to whisper they would be alright, as it was too risky, but he hoped Blaine would understand by the squeeze of Sam’s fingers in his shoulder.

The extra yards that involved going around the house were taking its toll in the injured ones, especially Sam, who had an injury on his leg and was getting easily tired, and Kitty, who was only holding on by sheer willpower and Puck’s and Unique’s support after the wound he had received in her head.

They doubted they had ever been more scared before. There they were, completely surrounded by walkers, knowing that one bad move could be fatal to the entire group. Every now and then, one of those creatures would stop next to one of them, doubtful, analyzing, but in the end they always continued walking towards the house. But that didn’t stop them from panicking anytime something like that happened.

Blaine thought he was going to cry with relief, though, when he noticed they were leaving most of the walkers behind. Of course those stupid creatures didn’t have any reason to leave the fort, as they knew there were still a lot of people inside. And since most of the walkers were still pounding in the house the group had just left, the others were attracted there by all the noise. For once, it seemed like things were going well. They would be out of there in no time.

Trying to be as silent as possible, Jake opened the back of the truck and helped his brother to lift Kitty inside. Santana was helped too, with Brittany getting right behind here. And they were quickly followed by Unique, Sugar, Jake, and Trent since Puck wanted to drive again.

Blaine was about to help Sam inside when a noise behind him caught his attention. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised, as the fact that most of the walkers were now far away from then didn’t mean that there couldn’t be a few stray ones wandering more closely.

But something, maybe a feeling he couldn’t explain, made him turn around and what he saw there made his heart stop beating: because standing there was Cooper, silently looking at him. He was missing most of the flesh around his middle, even some in his face, and his eyes were yellow and vacant but… it was him.

“Coop” Blaine whispered, low enough so as not to attract the attention of the other walkers, but it surely seemed to attract his brother, who walked closer to him.

“What…?” Sam began to ask when he felt Blaine leaving his side, and the panic that had invaded his heart when Blaine had defied those shooters before was nothing compared to the one he was feeling now as he saw his boyfriend walking voluntarily towards a walker –his brother’s corpse nonetheless. “Blaine, come back here”

“Coop?” Blaine asked as his brother approached him tentatively.

What if…? They had never been around a walker that had been a loved one before. What if they still had some memory? What if there was something of his brother still in that body? Cooper wasn’t acting as any other walker, was he? Any other walker would be running towards him to eat him, and Cooper was just shyly walking towards him. Maybe… maybe he had recognized him in some way?

“Blaine, he’s going to attack you!” Sam tried to warn him without yelling, terrified that the sound of his voice or his moves if he tried to grab Blaine would completely belie their state to the walker –because he was sure that was what was keeping _Cooper_ from attacking, the fact he wasn’t sure Blaine was a living thing yet because of the blood and the smell in his clothes. “Move away or kill him”

But Blaine didn’t listen. He just stayed rooted to his place, watching as his brother covered the rest of the distance between them. Blaine held his gaze and tried to find something in his eyes that told him that his brother was still there. That he was not completely gone. That he had not completely lost him.

“Blaine, come on” Sam desperately insisted as he slowly moved towards the brothers in case Blaine continued ignoring him.

“It’s me, Coop” Blaine said with a broken voice as he moved his hand in front of him with the intention of touching his brother’s face. “It’s your squirt”

Nothing could have prepared Blaine for what happened next: his voice finally took the walker in front of him –not his brother, but a walker– out of any doubt that he was alive, and he launched at him with the intention of biting his shoulder, as of course there was nothing of Cooper inside that body anymore and he didn’t recognize the person in front of him. The walker made a terrifying noise just before jumping on Blaine, who had been caught completely unaware after really believing his brother was recognizing him. But it hadn’t: he could feel his odor on him as its open mouth came dangerously close to his own flesh without him being capable of reacting. And it broke his heart that he was going to die at the hands of what once had been his brother, after said brother had given his life in vain to save him.

He only felt the touch of that walker’s fingers in his arm as he tried to immobilize him to bite him for a second before the familiar sound of breaking bones replaced the gurgling noise, and Blaine raised his gaze to see that it had been Sam embedding his knife on Cooper’s skull the one to put an end to the attack before it was too late.

“You ok?” Sam desperately needed as he positioned himself in front of Blaine to check for himself that he hadn’t been beaten.

But Blaine didn’t have eyes for anything else than his brother’s corpse lying on the cold hard ground, right in front of him. And finally his defenses broke and the breakdown he had been postponing for so long finally couldn’t be stopped anymore as he let himself fall to his knees while heart-wrenching but silent sobs starting erupting from his chest.

“Coop” he whispered as he let his head fall on his brother’s chest to cry, not minding that he was getting even more stained with his blood.

“Blaine” Sam said, unsure of what to do. Would Blaine ever be able to forgive him after what he had done? “Blaine, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to do it but… he was going to bite you”

Blaine didn’t acknowledge he had even heard Sam, or perhaps he was so angry he didn’t even want to talk to him. The thing is he continued crying on his brother’s chest, getting more and more desperate with each passing minute now that he had the chance to mourn him he hadn’t had until then.

Sam started crying with him, both because he was afraid Blaine would never forgive him for killing his brother –or what was left of him– and because he couldn’t stand seeing him in such pain. Blaine had suffered enough as it was, he didn’t need to see his brother’s corpse in that state, nor he needed to watch his boyfriend embedding his knife in its skull. Even if he knew Blaine was strong –stronger than anyone else–, that was too much, even for him.

Sam slowly kneeled next to Blaine –under the watchful eye of Sebastian, Mike and Puck that got their guns ready in case they needed to protect the couple, even if no other walkers seemed to be close enough to acknowledge their living status yet– and rested a gentle hand on his back, glad that at least he wasn’t refusing the contact.

“Please, forgive me, Blaine” Sam implored, his own voice breaking at the scene and at the possibility of losing the love of his life. “It was not him anymore”

“I know” Blaine answered as he raised his upper body to find Sam’s gaze and let him know he didn’t blame him for anything before breaking into sobs again. “He’s gone, Sam”

“I know” Sam answered as he started crying too and embraced Blaine with all his forces, only slightly relieved when Blaine finally reciprocated the embrace. “I know, love”

They lost track of time of how much time they spent like that, deeply encased in each other’s arms, sharing their pain and their tears as the body of the man that had given their life for theirs lay lifeless just before them. It was probably not more than a couple of minutes, but the pain was so intense and the relief of still having each other so real, that it felt like an eternity to them.

“I’m sorry” Sam still apologized when he felt Blaine was starting to calm down.

“No, it’s… it’s better this way” Blaine answered, even breaking the embrace to be able to look at his lover’s face so he could see he was being honest. “Now he can rest in peace”

“Yeah” Sam agreed with a sad smile and a kiss to Blaine’s temple, marveled, not for the first time, at Blaine’s amazing resilience.

“He looks like him again, doesn’t he?” Blaine suddenly asked as his hand moved to tenderly caress Cooper’s hair.

Sam also looked at the body in front of him, and he felt he was going to be sick by the sight of it: he was missing so many chunks of flesh, and there was so much blood covering him, that it was impossible that he could look as Cooper had done. Even his open and very yellow eyes were keeping Sam from seeing him as anything more than a walker. But of course he wasn’t going to tell Blaine that, if seeing his brother in that corpse helped him in any way.

“Yes” Sam answered as he gently closed Cooper’s eyes so it would help create the illusion he was resting. “He is finally peaceful”

Blaine started crying again, even if he didn’t sound as desperate as he had done a moment before. He sounded sad, full of grief… but there was an understanding in him now, as if he was more ready to let go now. And even if Blaine had been close to being beaten, Sam was glad that he had had the chance to see his brother a last time and replace the last image he had of him with the peaceful scene in front of him. Maybe that would help him move on.

“Coop…” Blaine whispered as he took his brother’s hand in his for the last time, thinking of all the times in his life that it had been his brother holding his hand to make him feel safe, to take care of him or just so Blaine wouldn’t feel lonely. Because Cooper had been that kind of a hero to Blaine.

_“I love you, little brother. More than you could ever imagine. Please, never forget it”_

Those had been his last words before giving up his life to save his, and still he had been the one reassuring Blaine instead of the other way around. Because Blaine was the person he had loved the most in the world and he had done whatever it took to keep him safe.

“I love you too, Cooper” Blaine whispered as he bent down to kiss his forehead. “And I will never forget it, I promise”

Sam put his arm around Blaine’s body to attract him to his side in a side embrace meant to let him know he was not alone and that he was still loved to no end. Blaine nodded at him, acknowledging Sam’s love that way, and carefully took the watch still hanging from Cooper’s wrist, that watch Blaine had given him himself when he was just a little kid and that Cooper had treasured so much. It was the only thing he could keep from him, and Blaine promised himself that watch was always going to be near him.

“Come on, babe” Sam gently encouraged him as he dried the still present tears in Blaine’s cheeks, just before standing up and offering a hand to his boyfriend. “We need to let go”

Blaine just nodded and obeyed, letting himself be pulled to his feet and directly to Sam’s warm arms that were pushing him towards the truck. And when he saw Puck and Mike finding a couple of shovels to dig a grave, he knew that at least his brother would have the chance to rest in peace.

And that thought, combined with Sam’s arms so strongly embracing him, comforted him.


End file.
